The Losers' Pact
by Faerex
Summary: Both of them were pining after people who would probably never want them. They decide enough is enough and acknowledgement is far better than being ignored, so they join forces in helping each other get over their crushes.
1. Chapter 1

**The Losers' Pact**

**Summary:** Kotoko was just like him, both of them pining after someone who would probably never want them. They decide enough is enough and acknowledgement is far better than being ignored, so they join forces in helping each other get over their crushes. Reiko is not impressed and Naoki is unpleased when they find it's their turn to do the chasing.

The dialogue at beginning of this chapter up to the bit where Kotoko helps Sudou is taken from the manga.

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><p><strong>Chapter One<strong>

**The Pact**

Kotoko sat next to Reiko, wincing as she witnessed the brutal tennis match between Irie-kun and Sudou-sempai. Well, it was brutal for Sudou-sempai anyway. He was getting absolutely pummelled by Irie-kun.

""Kya! That smash is terrific!" Reiko squealed. "My Irie is really something."

Kotoko glared at her sideways. "Hey," she huffed. "You should cheer for Sudou-sempai instead you know! Really!"

Reiko just looked back at her slyly. "Oh, I totally forgot about you trying to get over Irie-kun, Aihara-san. But it's ok if you cheer for Sudou, I'll be fine just cheering for Irie," Reiko told her in a sickly sweet voice.

"That's not fine at all!" Kotoko huffed. "You should shout, 'Sudou! Work hard.' You're really stubborn!" Why couldn't Reiko see that Sudou was doing this for her?

"I see," Reiko replied, turning back to the match. Suddenly she brought a hand to her mouth and called out, "Sudou, Aihara hopes that you'll buck up!"

"Wah!" Kotoko cried out. "What're you talking about!?" She looked at the court in horror and cringed as Irie-kun turned to give her a fierce glare. He looked really mad...Sudou on the other hand just looked confused at Kotoko's apparent sudden support for him.

Kotoko slid down in her seat. _Why is everything going against my wishes_?

"40- 0 Irie!" called out the umpire.

There was a resounding smack and cries of "Amazing!" and "He's really good!" from the audience.

"30 -0 Irie!" the umpire announced.

Sudou was starting to look a little rugged and worn out. He was panting harshly in comparison to Irie-kun, who hadn't even broken a sweat.

"Look! Sudou is all worn out!" one of the girls in the tennis club murmured to a fellow bystander.

The boy next to her agreed. "Irie is really insensitive...since he already knew he'd win for sure, he should go easy on him!"

Another guy just sighed in admiration. "No matter what, the Irie today is really great!"

Irie-kun's serves were hard, fast and brutal; Sudou-sempai really struggled to keep up. Kotoko watched the proceedings worriedly. She knew how first-hand how brutal Irie-kun could be, she still had injuries from their doubles match practices.

"Good shot!" Reiko called as Irie-kun hit the ball particularly hard. Kotoko followed the ball's trajectory with horror as it landed with a sickening thud onto Sudou-sempai's face.

The crowd gasped as they watched but none of them did anything. "Sudou-sempai!" Kotoko called out. She got up from her seat. "Sudou, are you alright?" She rushed over to him.

"Damn it Irie!" Sudou cursed.

"Ah!" Kotoko cried out as she got close to him. "Sudou-sempai, your nose is bleeding!"

"Eh?" Sudou cried out in surprise. "Blood...blood...I'm starting to feel dizzy."

"Hand on there, Sempai!" Kotoko said encouragingly as she reached out to him. She handed him some tissues which he took gratefully, muttering underneath his breath but she still caught what he said.

"Look at you..." Kotoko said, shaking her head in disbelief. "You're still saying you want to show off in front of Matsumoto!?"

"Those two really," someone giggled, and Kotoko suddenly realised she was being watched by the entire tennis club. "This is surprising!"

"So it's true!" somebody else whispered excitedly. Kotoko went rigid. _Surely they didn't think..._ "Aihara-san really does like him!" _Yep, it turns out they really did think that. Sigh. Why her?_

"No, no you guys!" Kotoko protested. "How can you... You guys made a mistake!" She wondered why Sudou-sempai wasn't saying anything and when she looked at him, she found him staring at Naoki and Reiko, who were standing in front of them.

"It seems like you won't be able to carry on now," Naoki said coolly. "Let's stop today. I'm going off now." Without even waiting for Sudou's answer, Naoki spun around and started walking away slowly. Reiko followed, not even sparing a glance at the two on the ground.

Reiko clutched his arm flirtatiously. "Irie is really great, you were splendid today!" she said with a giggle. Kotoko had the strong urge to throw something at her.

"Thank you," Naoki replied, acknowledging her compliment. Kotoko watched them go forlornly.

"By the way, Matsumoto," Naoki began. Kotoko watched him carefully and was slightly disconcerted when he turned his head slightly, looking right at her, his mouth formed into a smirk. "The movie you mentioned last time, I'll be free this Sunday so let's go together."

Kotoko was too stunned to move. No way. Irie-kun...had he just asked Reiko for a date?

"Eh, for real?" Reiko said in delight. "I'm so happy. Ok, we'll meet at one in front of JR."

Naoki agreed, "Ok then."

Naoki and Reiko reached the tennis court gate. "Then, why don't we have lunch together?" Kotoko could hear her say.

_Irie-kun would never agree_, Kotoko thought hopefully. She had declared that she would give up on Irie-kun but part of her still hoped that he would prove she shouldn't have to.

"Ah, okay." Her hopes were dashed.

"Wow, the tennis club sure has a great atmosphere," one of the members remarked. "First Sudou and Aihara, now Irie and Matsumoto."

"The prodigy team," someone sighed dreamily. "They go so good together."

Kotoko was miserable but she spared a thought for Sudou-sempai. She thought he would be angry with her for all the rumours that the tennis club had spun about them but when she looked at him, she was startled to see his eyes were suspiciously moist. His gaze still locked onto the gate where Reiko and Irie-kun had walked away from.

"She just walked away," Sudou whispered. "She didn't even care..."

Kotoko felt some of her own despair dissipate as she listened to Sudou as she tried to comfort him. She could understand how he was feeling, to see the one you like not even spare you a glance or a shred of concern. And Reiko hadn't cared at all that Sudou-sempai was lying on the floor bleeding and bruised. Kotoko felt angry towards the other girl and angry at Irie-kun too.

"Come on, let's get you to the nurse's office," Kotoko said softly. His noise was still bleeding but not so much now. There were several bruises on his arms which were starting to turn a purple colour. Irie-kun really had been viscous with him. Poor Sudou-sempai.

He gave a small bitter laugh. "She didn't even spare me a glance." He really did look as if he would cry then.

Kotoko didn't know what to say that would make him feel better. He allowed her to help him up and they quietly made their way to the nurse's office. There were people pointing and whispering about them and how it must be true about them being a couple. Kotoko was annoyed with this but ignored them, more concerned with the wellbeing of her friend. Sudou-sempai seemed to be in a daze.

She sat with him in the office. They were both quiet and the nurse soon left to tend to something else.

"We're both really pitiful huh?" Kotoko said, breaking the gloomy silence. "Both of us like people who look down on us and treat us like trash. Yet we keep going after them and setting ourselves up for disappointment."

Sudou-sempai stirred at this, looking at her blankly. He nodded slowly. "I don't know why I bother sometimes." He said quietly. "Matsumoto-san is such a talented, intelligent woman; I don't know why I think I could even stand a chance with her. I just...I just wanted her to pay attention to me."

Kotoko inclined her head slightly. "That's how I feel about Irie-kun." She was still feeling distraught at what had happened at the end of the match. She could comprehend that Irie-kun had asked Reiko on a date but her mind was still stuck replaying one moment. She remembered hearing his question, looking at him in shock and Irie-kun just smirked at her. _Smirked_! Like he knew what she was feeling and thinking and enjoyed it. How could he? Kotoko said as much to Sudou-sempai and then brooded about it some more.

"We should give up on them." Sudou-sempai spoke suddenly.

"Huh?" Kotoko looked at him in surprise. "What are you saying? You want to forget about Matsumoto?"

He exhaled sharply. "We should get over them. Why should we stand to be treated like this? We deserve much better?"

Kotoko grumbled a bit. "I'm already supposed to be giving up on Irie-kun. It just isn't working. It's actually quite hard you know."

Sudou-sempai looked at her brightly and she was startled by his sudden mood swing. "That's why we get over them together!" he announced. Seeing her look, he went to hastily to say, "Not like that! I think dating someone else so soon is a bad idea. What I mean is that we can be support buddies!"

"Support...buddies?" Kotoko echoed slowly.

"Yes!" he nodded enthusiastically. "So we can support each other in getting over Matsumoto and Irie. Whenever we lapse we can just encourage each other and remind ourselves why we're doing it."

A look of enlightenment dawned on Kotoko's face. "That...that sounds like a good idea!" She exclaimed, inspired. "That might actually work!"

Sudou-sempai nodded, regaining his usual vigour. "Now, here's what we need to do..."

Sometime later:

**Kotoko and Sudou's List to get over Irie and Matsumoto**

**What not to do:**

**1) We will absolutely not follow them on their date on Sunday**

**2) In fact, we just won't follow them altogether as in hindsight this may be considered stalking**

**3) No more trips to the engineering department by both of us. We don't have classes there so we have no reason to be there.**

**4) We will not try and do things just because Matsumoto and Irie and doing them.**

**5) We will not think of them as being perfect. They (surely must) have some faults too**

**6) We will not fall in love with them again**

"Ok so that's the list." Kotoko announced as she read the finished article she had hastily written on her notepad.

Sudou-sempai nodded in approval. "Looks good. It's best to have a few goals to start off with. The last one will be the hardest but if we get through the others then we shall surely prevail!"

She agreed. "I'll write the list up at home and make you a copy. I'll give it to you tomorrow."

"Thanks." Sudou-sempai smiled, holding out a hand for her to shake. She took it with a grin.

"Aihara-san, here's to the start of a beautiful friendship."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

The First Assignment

Dinner that night was tense and everyone seemed to realise that the tension came from Kotoko and Naoki. Naoki spoke more than he usually did and would somehow end all his comments with a mean remark referring to Kotoko. She on the other hand, only gave curt replies, refusing to give in and blow up like he expected her too. For the most part Kotoko blanked him but that only caused him to increase his taunting. In the end Kotoko excused herself abruptly from the table and stalked up to her room so she didn't have to see his smug, smirking face.

To calm herself, Kotoko sat at her desk, pulling out the list. She rummaged around in her stationary drawer until she found her fancy writing paper. Having a look through the selection, she finally settles on a plain parchment design and took two sheets of it along with two matching envelopes. She used her favourite ink pen to copy the list onto the writing paper, taking great pains to make it look as presentable as possible. Kotoko blew the ink dry and folded the parchment, placing it into the envelopes. On one envelope she wrote Sudou-sempai's name. On the other she simply wrote 'The List,' and tucked it safely in her draw. She would have liked to place it under her pillow but there was a high likelihood of Oba-sama finding it there.

Kotoko showered and changed into her pyjamas. Before she crawled into bed, she took out her list, reading each point again to strengthen her resolve. She vowed to look at each night if she could. As she closed her eyes that night, Kotoko's thoughts were of finally getting over Irie-kun for good.

Kotoko woke the next day with the fact burned into her mind that it was Tuesday and there were only five more days until Irie-kun and Matsumoto's date. She had set her alarm to go off earlier than usual so that she was up and dressed before Oba-sama had even started making breakfast. Kotoko made her excuses and said there was something she had to do and left, leaving Oba-sama to worry that something had happened between her and Oni-chan. She resolved to have words with her son when he came down for breakfast.

Naoki was surprised when he came down for breakfast to find that not only was Kotoko missing from the table, she had left already without waiting for him like she usually did. He ignored his mother's mutterings on how he must have done something wrong and briefly wondered if Kotoko was upset about yesterday but shrugged it off. It's not like he had done anything more than what he usually did.

When he reached the entrance to the college grounds, Matsumoto was already there waiting for him. They walked side by side talking lightly when all of a sudden Reiko stopped, staring at something off to the side. Naoki followed her gaze and was shocked to see Kotoko, sitting on a bench shaded by a tree, next to Sudou. He felt annoyed as they both laughed and smiled over something and wondered why they were even sitting together. It only occurred to him that Kotoko might have left early to meet Sudou when she pulled something out of her bag and gave it to him. His eyes widened as he recognised what it was.

"My, my, it looks as though she really does like him after all," Reiko crowed in delight. "That couldn't be anything else other than a love letter."

Naoki didn't say anything, watching instead as Sudou opened the letter with great care. He read it, and then beamed at Kotoko, who matched his smile and laughed. Whatever the letter had said, Sudou obviously wasn't adverse to it. He tried to convince himself that he didn't care what the letter said.

"They seem like a perfect match anyhow," Reiko said dismissively, continuing on her path. Naoki took one more glance at Kotoko and then followed Reiko.

"So, I have an idea for our first assignment," Sudou-sempai told Kotoko.

"Assignment?" Kotoko replied. "For what?"

"Well," Sudou-sempai began. "For things like this, you need to set yourself small tasks to complete to help you reach your goal."

Kotoko was still confused. "I thought what I wrote on the lists were our tasks?" she told him.

"They are the main tasks, yes," Sudou-sempai told her patiently. "But we won't be able to complete those right away, that would be too easy and if that were the case, we'd be over Matsumoto and Irie in a jiffy."

"Hm, you're right," Kotoko said glumly. "It won't be that easy, huh?"

"Never fear, my idea is sure to work!" Sudou-sempai exclaimed enthusiastically.

"I hope it isn't too hard," Kotoko told him. "I already have a few assignments to do, and tests to revise for. What is it anyway?"

"The assignment is," Sudou-sempai paused for dramatic emphasis. "To write a list on why Matsumoto and Irie are bad for us and to write down all their negative aspects so we can see they're not so perfect after all."

Kotoko looked slightly annoyed. "I've tried that before, it doesn't really work. I still like Irie-kun even though he's a massive jerk."

Sudou-sempai looked smug. "Ah, but this will be different. See, I'll be writing a list about Irie. You'll be writing a list on Matsumoto."

"Eh?" Kotoko said in surprise. "Will that really work?"

He nodded. "Sure. That way, you can see things from another person's perspective. And this way, when I write about Irie, I'll think about you, as a friend, and the type of person I think will make you happy. Then I'll compare that with Irie's characteristics and you can see how they compare."

She pondered over this. "Well, I'm not sure if it'll work but it's worth a shot. When shall we do this by?"

Sudou-sempai thought about it. "How about we write the assignments tonight, if you're not too busy that is? Their date is only five days away after all, so it would be good to have something to bolster our spirits with."

Kotoko became glum again at the mention of the date. She'd have to go throughout the week knowing that on Sunday, Matsumoto and Irie-kun would be having lunch then going to see a movie, something romantic that couples usually do.

"You're right, tonight will be a good time to write the list," Kotoko said with a sigh. "Ah, by the way, what are we going to do about...?"

Sudou-sempai looked at her questioningly. "About what?"

Since he had been in a bit of a daze the day before, Kotoko explained to him about the rumours and how everyone seemed to think that they were a couple. He thought about it for a bit.

"Well, this could work to our advantage," Sudou-sempai said.

"But I thought you said it would be bad to date another person so soon?" Kotoko asked apprehensively. She wasn't sure she could do it either.

He shook his head. "We wouldn't be. Other people will think it, and if we say we're not but hang out together, they'll still think it's true anyway and leave us alone. That way, nobody will be suspicious if we hang out so much."

Kotoko grinned. "So it's like a secret cover for what we're really doing?"

He agreed. "Yeah, exactly. I doubt Irie nor Matsumoto will care for the rumours though. They might think that we're just pretending to date to make them jealous."

"But that's good," Kotoko pointed out. "Because they'll leave us alone, right?" But then she thought about Irie-kun how liked to taunt her and thought maybe he would try and seek her out just to make her life miserable. Kotoko told Sudou-sempai her thoughts as they started walking to class.

"You're just going to have to try and ignore him if he does," Sudou-sempai told her. "If he does do that just let it be and remind yourself that it is a negative trait of his, so instead of being hurt by his words, you'll feel empowered knowing that you deserve better." Kotoko thought that Sudou was pretty good at giving advice.

They talked about the list too and how they would follow it.

"Well, the first step on the list was to not follow them," Sudou-sempai told her. "I guess it goes without saying that we don't talk to them unless absolutely necessary and just try to ignore them when they're around. That way, we won't be tempted to follow them."

Kotoko agreed to this readily. It would be hard but with Sudou-sempai's support, she could eventually succeed. "Though I doubt they'll notice that we'd stop following them," she grumbled.

They knew that they probably feel down towards the end of the week with the date looming closer and agreed to arrange something fun to do to take their minds off the date.

As she bid him goodbye, he told her, "Oh, Aihara-san, drop the honorific. You can call me Sudou."

She was surprised but it made sense. That way people really would think they were dating. "Well, in that case, you can call me by my first name," she told him.

He agreed to this and waved goodbye, and Kotoko went off to her first class with a smile, feeling optimistic.

"So..." Satomi and Jinko stood in front of Kotoko, hands on their hips as they interrogated their friend.

"What's this I hear about you and this Sudou guy?" Jinko demanded. "Are you really dating? I thought you still liked Irie?"

Kotoko huffed. "Didn't I tell you I was going to get over Irie-kun? Besides, Sudou and I are not dating. We're just friends." She knew that if she told her friends the truth, it would be over college by lunch time and they would most definitely tell Irie-kun. They were the ones after all who had written those posters in high school.

Satomi's eyes widened. "Oh, so it's Sudou now? When did you two get so familiar?"

"It's not like that, really!" Kotoko protested. "We really are friends! We've discovered that we're actually quite alike and it's fun hanging out together."

"Sure..." Jinko drawled. "Hanging out huh?"

Kotoko stared at them in disbelief but inwardly she thought that Sudou was right. The more she denied it, the more people seemed to believe it was true.

"Bah, believe what you want to," Kotoko grumbled. "You never listen anyway."

They looked guiltily at her. "Ok, ok, we believe you," Jinko assured her. Somehow Kotoko didn't believe that. "Just let us know if something does happen between you two."

Kotoko agreed and they took their seats beside her, settling down for their class.

She had a free period next so Kotoko settled herself in the library and started doing her work. However halfway through Kotoko couldn't contain her thoughts any longer and instead of writing notes on Japanese literature on her notepad, started scribbling out the beginnings of her assignment on a fresh page.

**Reiko Matsumoto**

Characteristics:

1) She is very beautiful (looks like a supermodel and is graceful too)

2) Also super talented and smart (was in class A in high school and is now a student in the engineering department)

But...

3) She's also a complete cow

Kotoko hastily scribbled that out and started again. Hm, it was going to be hard to be unbiased in writing this list. Kotoko continued writing, trying hard to think of Matsumoto in terms of potential girlfriend material for Sudou instead of her rival for Irie-kun's affections.

3) She acts like she's superior to those who aren't as clever, scorning those who aren't in the science or law department.

Evidence: Constantly belittling me and my friends from the literature department for coming from class F and doesn't think much of Kin-chan, who works in the cafeteria.

4) She's a very cold person and doesn't seem to have many feelings or emotions (except when it comes to Irie-kun).

Evidence: Acts aloof to everyone and does not show any interest or enthusiasm towards them (except Irie-kun).

5) As mentioned above, when it comes to Irie-kun, she acts like a completely different person and flirts outrageously with him, disregarding everyone else. (Using this as evidence, I suspect that Matsumoto is a cunning person who resorts to any means to get what she wants when her normal demeanour does not work).

Evidence: When Irie-kun is around, she clings to him constantly and expresses more emotions towards him. Didn't even care about Sudou, who she has known since high school, when he got hurt and indeed seemed amused when he got thrashed in the tennis match. She is constantly asking Irie-kun out on dates and asking for his help, even though she is smart enough to figure things out on her own.

6) She hangs out with Irie-kun a lot. So she must not have many other friends. Further proof that she is an unfeeling Ice Queen.

Evidence: I have never seen her hang out with anyone else. Ever. She doesn't even talk much with the other tennis club members.

7) Her good grades must mean that she works really hard; again she wouldn't have time for friends or a boyfriend

Evidence: Same as above, I have never seen her with anyone other than Irie-kun. She also spends a lot of time in the library, mostly when Irie-kun is there too.

8) Matsumoto is very beautiful but always looks so immaculate. I suspect that she must take a lot of care with her appearance and therefore is quite superficial.

Evidence: Is it even possible for someone to look that amazing naturally? Seriously? _**Seriously**_?

9) Further evidence that she is superficial is the fact that she only likes Irie-kun because he's smart and good looking.

Evidence: She told me so herself. At least I like him even knowing he's a jerk.

10) Even though she makes fun of me for doing it, she thinks nothing of following Irie-kun around

Evidence: 99.9 per cent of the times I encounter her, she's with Irie-kun. Come to think of it, I'm pretty sure that I've never seen her without him there too.

Why Matsumoto is not good for Sudou:

Sudou is such a nice guy with a cheerful disposition and a lot of friends. When his friends or teammates are down, Sudou shows a great deal of concern for them. Even with the lesser talented members of the club (such as myself) Sudou strives to help them improve and encourage them, compared to Matsumoto who prefers to mock and discourage them.

He is the complete opposite to Matsumoto. Sometimes people say that opposites attract but I'm not sure that would be true in this case. A guy like Sudou would want someone who appreciates and acknowledges his kindness and just appreciates him in general.

Someone like Matsumoto would only think that by showing kindness, he is showing weakness and would instead push him to be someone he is not and make him unhappy. Sudou cares very much for Matsumoto's happiness but in successful relationships, happiness is a give and take situation. Whilst Sudou may give a lot to Matsumoto, Matsumoto does not give anything to him.

"What are you doing?" a voice behind her said.

Kotoko jumped, covering her notepad with her arms. She looked to see Irie-kun, surprisingly without Matsumoto, standing beside her, trying to see what she was working on. Kotoko scowled.

"Why's it any of your business?" she scowled, arms still casually hiding her notes.

Naoki craned his head slightly, trying to get a better look. "I'm just wondering because it's such a rare occurrence to see you in the library. Must be something big to make you want to come here." He smirked. "Or were you hoping that you'd run into me?"

Kotoko scowled again at his smug expression. "I did not come to the library for you!" she said hotly. She surreptitiously closed her notepad but Irie-kun must have caught something because his eyes suddenly went narrow and his smirk turned into a frown.

"Oh, what's this?" Naoki said coolly. "Another love letter to Sudou?"

Kotoko had no idea what he was talking about and said as much, albeit a little crossly. She was also worried at what he might've seen.

"I saw you give a love letter to him this morning," Naoki said. "For someone who claims to have loved me for so long, you do move on rather quick. Maybe your feelings weren't as strong as you claimed them to be. Or is it perhaps that you're a fickle person who goes after lots of boys to get attention?"

Oh she was really mad now and her eyes flashed angrily. Quick as a flash Kotoko was up, hand slamming down to slap Irie-kun's cheek. She hit hard, she knew, because of the resounding SMACK her hand made and the lovely red hand print left on his face.

"You are such a jerk!" she yelled, not caring about the others in the library. Heck, they had all turned around when she slapped him anyway. "I don't know why anyone would like you! Matsumoto is very welcome to have you, you're both _perfect_ for each other!" Kotoko spat out sarcastically before she stomped away, stomping past a very surprised Reiko who had come into the library to find Irie-kun only to witness this little scene.

Naoki stood there in shock, he could only watch as Kotoko all but stalked angrily out of the library. He was vaguely aware of people looking at him and whispering, and Matsumoto asking if he was alright and asking what Kotoko had done now. He didn't really take all this in but he did become very aware of two girls who suddenly got up from a nearby table. It was Jinko and Satomi, who had covertly followed Kotoko to the library and had witnessed everything.

"Wow, I guess she really is over Irie," Satomi remarked, her words cutting into Naoki. "She's never done anything like that before, has she?"

Jinko shook her head as they both walked out the library. "Nuh uh, never. I guess she finally realised she could do better. I much prefer that Sudou guy, he's very nice to her. Even if she says they aren't a couple now, it won't be long before they are."

Satomi agreed. "I would say that Kotoko has finally seen his true colours but she's known for a while what Irie was really like. I'm just glad she finally see's that she'd be unhappy with such a jerk." They had just gone through the door but she had spoken loud enough to make sure Naoki heard every word. Matsumoto scoffed at their retreating figures before turning to Naoki worriedly.

"Are you alright? What did that brat do?" Matsumoto asked in concern.

Naoki slumped into Kotoko's vacated chair, murmuring something to Matsumoto before opening one of his books and pretending to read so he didn't have to talk to her. The whispers and stares of the other library patrons died down as everyone went back to their work. It wasn't the first time Kotoko had slapped him, the other time had been when he had revealed her feelings to his family and her dad, reciting her love letter word for word. She had been mad then, but she was even madder this time.

He recalled what Jinko and Satomi said and just hoped he hadn't ruined things between him and Kotoko. They had said that Sudou and Kotoko weren't a couple. Naoki scowled a little. Sure looked like it to him.

Naoki didn't get much work done. All he could think about for the rest of the day was Kotoko and whether her feelings for him had really changed.

Sudou had received a text from Kotoko which told him what had happened it the library. He was sympathetic but at the same time it gave him inspiration on what to write for his assignment.

**Naoki Irie**

Characteristics:

1) He is clever and has many talents

2) He is (supposedly) good looking (based on the general consensus of the girls I know).

But...

3) Irie is a very cold person and does not interact with those he does not deem worthy. He hangs around with very few people and when he does, it's usually for work related reasons.

4) He claims to dislike stupid people (no matter what their personality is like, if their I.Q. is less than his then they are not worth his time).

5) He may be talented but that doesn't mean he knows how to have fun. I have never witnessed him do something just for fun, with him it's always work, work, work.

6) He thinks nothing of mocking peoples' feelings in public. (Here I am thinking of Kotoko's graduation party, from what Kotoko and her friends have told me of it). He mocked Kotoko's feelings in front of all those people without any remorse or consideration.

7) He is very selfish. When Kotoko Irie said had kissed her, I was surprised at first. But then when she said he had only done after she had told him she was giving up on him, I was mad. What kind of guy would do something like that, giving a girl false hope so she can't move on?

Why Kotoko can do so much better:

Irie is a clever and talented guy, of that there is no doubt. He never seems to have to try to achieve anything. In that respect he has no idea how to relate to someone like Kotoko, who works hard to get where she does.

Kotoko is a very warm-hearted, caring individual. Although she is not a genius, she is by no means stupid and deserves someone to treat her right. Irie, who is as cold as ice and knows the definition of the word fun but is lacking in practice, is not her ideal guy. What would someone like him know of feelings and emotions, something that Kotoko has in abundance? What could he possibly give her?

There is also the fact that he is constantly mean to Kotoko for no reason at all. Irie seems to enjoy cutting her down and making her feel bad about herself. And he is cruel, kissing Kotoko after her declaration of giving up on him just to make sure that she can't move on and then he has the gall to ask Matsumoto out on a date in front of Kotoko. What kind of sick person is he to play with a girl's feelings like that?

Finally Kotoko says that she likes Irie despite his bad faults but that does not mean that he is good for her. She is happy, she says, whenever Irie says the rare kind word and graces her with a look. STOP, I say. Kotoko deserves more than that. Irie treats her like a dog begging for attention and gives her scraps, but she is a person, one who requires genuine affection and deserves someone who gives her more than a sparing glance.

Irie is cool, no doubt. But he will not, and cannot make Kotoko happy. She deserves much, much more.

Kotoko went without dinner that night, not being able to stand the thought of seeing Irie-kun's face again. She texted Sudou, agreeing to meet up with him again tomorrow morning. As she drifted off to sleep Kotoko briefly thought that if Irie-kun kept acting like he had today, she would be over him in no time at all.

Naoki texted Matsumoto to say he couldn't meet her this morning as he had things to do. Instead he followed Kotoko, careful to keep a safe distance behind her. To his chagrin, she was once again meeting with Sudou and he scowled when she again handed the older guy an envelope. However he was surprised when Sudou handed her an envelope back. Did couples really exchange love letter like that?

He watched as the two opened their respective envelopes with more apprehensiveness than anticipation on their faces, and saw how intently they read them. He watched as their expressions became grim, reluctant and then grudgingly accepting. He observed as they talked about the letters, pointing at words and then agreeing with each other over things. Sudou said something and Kotoko gave a small smile, but it wasn't her usual bright smile.

As they walked off, Naoki frowned, having gained more questions than answers from his observation. One thing was for certain, those weren't love letters that had been exchanged. Those two were up to something and Naoki was determined to find out what.


	3. Chapter 3

The description Kotoko gives of her 'past loves' before high school are from suki-desu's Itazura na Kiss manga summaries, which you can find on her website. I've only read up to the Christmas episode in the manga and the anime doesn't cover everything so I used the website to follow the later manga summaries.

* * *

><p><span>Chapter Three<span>

The Second Assignment

* * *

><p>Wednesday had been a fairly successful day, for Sudou anyway. After reading the list Kotoko had written for him, Sudou had taken her words to heart. He hadn't spoken much to Matsumoto and did not favour her like he usually did. Not that she seemed to notice that he had done so. It turns out that Kotoko was right and whenever Irie was present, nobody else mattered to Matsumoto.<p>

Alas, poor Kotoko. Irie had shown up again to practice, which was a surprise to Sudou since Irie was not a regular attendee. Kotoko had mentioned that she had avoided Irie as much as possible after the incident in the library but it looked like Irie wasn't returning the favour. Since his attention was not diverted towards Matsumoto as it usually was, Sudou took the time to observe Irie.

Sudou had set Kotoko an exercise to do with a few members at a similar level to her. Despite the fact they were complete beginners and wouldn't be able to hold their own against a pro, the beginners really enjoyed the exercises that he gave them. The beginners group were situated as far from the pros as possible, partly because Sudou didn't want them to feel pressurised and partly because he wanted to keep Kotoko away from Irie. She had been doing fine, smiling and having fun with the other members that is, until Irie wandered over.

The older student watched as Kotoko stiffened, trying to ignore Irie's presence. Irie must have said something charming to the other girls in the group as they were soon swooning and giggling. Admittedly Irie could say something completely dull and the girls would still react the same way, Sudou thought grouchily. His eyes watched the way Irie's demeanour changed when he addressed Kotoko. He smirked, not very nicely and must have said something mean because Kotoko suddenly flushed in anger, which made Irie smirk even more and caused some of the group to giggle.

Kotoko looked as if she were about to blow her top but then she caught Sudou's eye. She paused, as if remembering something, most likely what he had told her yesterday about using Irie's negative traits as inspiration to get over him. Anyhow she ignored Irie completely, turning her back on him and making her way to Sudou instead. As the beginners group giggled about Kotoko going off to meet him, Sudou was the only one that noticed the look that flittered onto Irie's face before it settled into a blank mask and his suspicions were aroused. However he put them aside for now to greet Kotoko.

"He's a jerk, he's a jerk, he's a jerk," Kotoko mumbled in the way of a greeting as she stood next to him, leaning slightly against the tennis cage as she stood with her back to Irie. Sudou tipped his head forward in acknowledgment.

"I see what you mean about him purposely antagonising you," Sudou mused aloud. "At least I have it easy, Matsumoto just ignores me, and it makes it somewhat less difficult to get over her."

Kotoko groaned, sagging completely against the cage. "So unfair! Why does he do it though?" she grumbled. "It's not like I did anything to him to deserve such behaviour...I think...Well ninety- nine percent sure...I'm pretty certain anyway."

Sudou kept his suspicions quiet for now. He wanted to be sure of them first but besides, if they turned out to be true, telling them to Kotoko would be detrimental to the goal they had set. It would only serve to give her a false hope again. And...

If Sudou's suspicions turned out to be correct then he was all the more adamant that Kotoko deserved better than Irie. If Irie really did care about Kotoko and treated still her like _that_...it made Sudou really angry just thinking about it.

Practice was nearly at an end and it was then that Sudou suddenly found Matsumoto hovering around him and Kotoko, although that may have had something to do with the fact that Irie was once again seeking Kotoko out and striding purposefully over to them.

Sudou looked at Matsumoto questioningly. "Is something wrong Matsumoto?" he asked wearily. She had that sly little grin on her face, the one she wore when she was about to tease someone, namely Kotoko.

"Hm," Matsumoto hummed. She didn't speak up until Irie reached them. "I just think it's sweet that's all that you act so lovey dovey in public."

Sudou raised his eyes to the heaven in exasperation, joining Kotoko in leaning against the cage. _Really? _Had she come over here just to say something as pointless as that? It was obvious to him that she was only doing it to gain the interest of Irie. Had he really been so blind not to notice these things before? Just thinking about it made him feel embarrassed at how he had acted before. No wonder Matsumoto had never paid attention to him.

Kotoko, who had been pretending to rummage around in her bag in order to ignore Irie, paused and looked at Matsumoto, giving her a hard look.

"You're obviously not very good at reading people if you think that Sudou and I standing next to each other counts as lovey dovey behaviour," Kotoko said coolly. Sudou mentally applauded her. Matsumoto was taken aback, as was Irie, but she quickly recovered.

"Oh, so it's Sudou now is it?" Matsumoto continued lightly but Kotoko ignored her.

Irie gave a small snort. "It's a bit unprofessional having the coach date one of the students isn't it? It doesn't give the club a good reputation."

Sudou grit his teeth in annoyance. "We're not dating," he said tersely. "I don't recall either of us saying that we were." He noted that Matsumoto didn't seem at all concerned whether or not he and Kotoko were dating. He wasn't at all surprised.

Kotoko just ignored Irie and started texting furiously on her phone. Sudou was sure he heard her mumble something like, "Sorry, I graduated from class F. I don't have the mental capacity to understand jerk speech." By the look on Irie's face, he heard it too. Sudou tried not to laugh, hiding it as a cough. Luckily Matsumoto spoke again before Irie could call Kotoko out on it.

"Well, do let your friends know if anything does happen between you two," Reiko said with a small laugh, one that Sudou usually found charming but right now he found annoying. How quickly one's opinion could change once they saw the truth. Or did he simply find her annoying because she clearly was not interested in _anything _he did? Sudou wasn't sure anymore.

Sudou was sick of this. "Yes, if such a thing did occur then my friends would be the first to know." He straightened up and Kotoko followed his example, pressing the send button before looking up at him in curiosity. He hesitated a bit, wondering whether to continue. A glance at Kotoko strengthened his resolve. "In which case, you would be the last to find out about it." With that, Sudou strode away, not bothering to check Matsumoto's reaction. He heard Kotoko follow him.

That had been mean to say...but it was true. Whilst Sudou may have strong feelings for Matsumoto, she did not even consider him a friend even after all these years.

"If it makes you feel better, the look on her face was priceless," Kotoko offered quietly as she stepped up beside him. He announced practice was over and they walked off the court with the others, not bothering to look back. "She was gaping like a fish. I've never seen her with such a shocked expression." She didn't mention anything about Irie.

Sudou gave a small smile at having finally gotten a reaction out of Matsumoto. Just a shame it had to be that sort of reaction really.

"You know, I feel pretty good," Sudou commented. "It's only been a few days since we made the pact but I feel like I'm getting somewhere." A few days ago he would have thought that there would be no point in a future without Matsumoto. Now Sudou could see that there was so much more to experience that didn't involve her.

Kotoko partially agreed. "That assignment was useful; I'm looking forward to the next one. Now, if only I can find away to keep away from Irie..." Not easy seeing as she lived with him, Sudou mused. Poor Kotoko.

Not only that, Irie did actually acknowledge Kotoko as at least a friend, no matter the shoddy way he treated her. That was more than Matsumoto ever did for him. But it would make it that much harder for Kotoko to get over him. Sudou had seen the effort it had cost her just to keep her eyes from him. Not good. Sudou would have to think of a new strategy to help his new friend.

He bid goodbye to Kotoko and watched as she headed towards the station and saw Irie follow her at a distance. Sudou sighed, shaking his head before he started making his own way home. He didn't notice Matsumoto watching him as he left.

Later that day Sudou fished his phone from where he had chucked it into his sports bag and read the numerous messages he had accumulated, including Kotoko's text detailing the next assignment. When he looked at the time of the text, he found that it was the one that she had been furiously typing at the end of tennis practice. They had agreed earlier that morning that they would do another one since the first was so successful and she said that it was her turn to pick. In her text she suggested that he write about why he had fallen for Matsumoto in the first place. She would be doing the same thing but about Irie. Then when they met up tomorrow they could talk about their experiences.

Sudou tapped his pen thoughtfully against his chin as he thought back to the first moment he had met Reiko Matsumoto. His piece was short but when he had finished it he was happy with it, and seeing the words of truth staring back at him from the paper gave him a sense of acceptance and he felt that little bit more ready to move on.

**What I like(d) about Reiko Matsumoto:**

At first, I admit, it was her beauty that caught my attention. I'm sure that I have never seen anyone else as beautiful as her.

As I got to know her, I came to admire her dedication and independence. She worked hard to get what she wanted and that was something that inspired me.

After a while though I noticed that Matsumoto was too independent at times, if there is such a thing as that. She refused the help of other people unless she was working on a group project. I became worried that she was trying to take on too much by herself and working herself too hard. Whenever I saw her I noticed she looked tired but she would spend as much time as she could in the library. My feelings for her changed from admiration into wanting to prevent her from overworking herself. Nobody else seemed to be looking out for her; instead they constantly praised her grades and talents. Sometimes I wondered whether this made Matsumoto feel pressured, trying to keep up her perfect image for the sake of everyone else. I wondered if her smiles were real and if she were truly happy.

So yes, at first I wanted to be with her because I liked and admired her. But eventually my feelings changed and I wanted to be by her side so I could help her and pick her up when she fell, let her know that she didn't always have to try so hard. I wanted her to know that she didn't have to do things alone.

Well, I've always known that Matsumoto didn't like me. I guess she doesn't need someone like me either. Maybe what she needs is someone like Irie, who is very much like her. If that's the case then so be it. All I wanted was for her to be happy after all.

And...

If I truly did love her, I shouldn't be so selfish as to get in the way of someone who deserves to be with her.

* * *

><p>It had been the second night in a row that Kotoko had told Oba-sama not to cook dinner for her. She could tell her pseudo mother figure was worried about her, but Kotoko said she wasn't hungry. She wasn't really. She had eaten a big lunch as she had a hunch that she would be hiding away in her room. Kotoko caught her dad watching her as she made her way upstairs and made a mental note to talk to him later about the possibility of moving out of the Irie household. She knew that continuing to live with Irie-kun would just mess with her feelings; she couldn't resolve them in this place when he was so near to her.<p>

Kotoko read the list again, followed by the first assignment. What Sudou had written was a bit harsh but it was also true and not at all difficult to comprehend. With a sigh, she got started on the next assignment.

Kotoko found it easy to write this one. She could still pinpoint the exact moment that she had fallen for Irie-kun, or specifically, both times she had fallen for him, the first time being superficial and the second time falling for him properly.

**Why I fell for Irie-kun:**

I was in Kindergarten when I first stumbled upon the book Sleeping Beauty. It was a kid's version, mostly pictures than text, but from the story I managed to get the idea of 'one true love' and 'happily ever after'. Right there and then I decided that was what I wanted for myself, this was fuelled further when I saw the picture of the handsome prince.

In elementary school I met a boy called Takeshi who I liked and looked like the prince from the book. However I quickly found out his personality was less than charming when he angered some other kids and then ran off, leaving me to get beaten up by the angry kids. Definitely not Prince Charming material.

I really shouldn't believe so much in magazine articles but at heart I'm a hopeless romantic. When I was fourteen, me and my friends were reading a magazine that told me that my future love would have a name starting with a 'N.' As we sat outside on the grass, trying to guess who this person could be, a soccer ball came soaring towards us and we didn't have time to move. Before any of us were hurt, a boy dived in front of us, catching the ball and telling the soccer players off. He said his surname was Naokazu.

He wasn't that handsome but he was nice and I started to like him and became convinced that he was 'the one'. However I was quickly disappointed when I peeped on him in class and discovered that he was quite dumb. Coming from someone who was in Class F, that's saying something. I talked with him a bit more just to make sure but even though Naokuzu Syouichi was a nice guy, he couldn't always understand what I was talking about and this made him embarrassed and uncomfortable. I knew that things wouldn't work out between us.

I first saw Irie-kun at the opening ceremony of my first year in High School. He was the representative for my year. I perked up when I saw him come on stage, realising he looked just like a handsome prince. Shallow of me I know but then I know I'm not the only girl to have done so. My heart gave a silly lurch as his name, Irie Naoki, was announced and I couldn't get that stupid article out of my head.

Of course first appearances can be deceiving and so to make sure of Irie-kun's character, I watched him and soon found out he _was _as a Prince Charming should be. Irie-kun is good at everything and achieved the best grades effortlessly. He was cool, well-spoken and well liked.

Two years later, when I gave him that love letter, I found out what he was actually like. He doesn't like stupid girls, he said. Never mind what a girl's personality was like, if they're in class F then they're not worth associating with. He didn't even read the letter, and just walked off with no regards to my feelings.

At first I thought that it was extremely bad luck that I found myself living in the same house as him but my romantic side persuaded me that it was fate. The more I lived with Irie-kun, the more I found out about him.

Turns out, he doesn't work hard for his grades. He just needs to read something once and then he can memorise it. He cooked for the first time ever when I was there and it turned out to be better than any attempt I had made my whole life. Irie-kun is someone who has never had to try hard for anything, it just all comes so naturally to him. It made me really jealous, I admit. It seemed Irie-kun was more a lucky guy than a Prince Charming.

But...even though my initial reason for falling for Irie-kun was because I had mistaken him for my Prince Charming, and, despite the fact I found him to be otherwise, I still found myself falling in love with him all over again.

Turns out, I like him even though he wasn't at all like I thought he was. After a while we became closer after living together for so long and I began to understand him better. He took the time and effort to help me and became accustomed to my presence and the chaos I brought. I felt comfortable with him during these times and found I could act like myself around him and he would understand me.

I will never be with him though. We may have grown closer but it's clear that he still sees me as a nuisance. I'll never be able to live up to his standards of his ideal girl. But if being with Irie-kun means his constant jibes and belittlement, then, you know what?

I'm better off without him.

But even if that's true, my stubborn heart just won't agree with my head.

* * *

><p>The next morning Kotoko woke up early once again and headed down contentedly to breakfast, only to halt in the doorway as she took in Irie-kun sitting at the table, calmly sipping tea and reading the paper. He looked up at her briefly.<p>

"Good morning," Irie-kun said in his usual, steady voice, and then looked down at his paper again.

"..." Kotoko's brain worked furiously to summon up the words to express the questions in her head. Why was he up so early? Did he have to go to college early? Did that mean she had to go with him to college? She cringed internally at the thought. That would be awkward.

_Liar_, a little voice in her mind said. _You always love it when Irie-kun is with you, no matter how insignificant the occasion_. Kotoko gave herself a mental shake in order to clear that thought from her mind.

In the end Kotoko muttered a stiff "Good morning," back and had no choice but to take the seat opposite him since Oba-sama had already set the place up for her. At least the paper hid his face so she didn't have to look at him. She looked at him warily. Just what was he planning anyway?

Irie-kun lowered the newspaper and folded it neatly, putting it aside. Kotoko refrained from scowling but could not help but twitch when Irie-kun rested his gaze upon her. She mentally stomped on the part of her that was happy that he was looking at her. Idiot! She would never get over him if she kept up with that attitude! Oh well, as long as he didn't speak to her than she would be fine. Irie-kun didn't usually speak to her during meal times so Kotoko figured that she would be able to get through this meal alright.

"You're up early today." His deep smooth voice almost tempted her to look at him but Kotoko fiercely continued staring at her plate.

"Yeah, I had some things to do," Kotoko said in the most nonchalant way she could manage. She definitely couldn't look at him now. Irie-kun somehow could always tell when she was lying just by looking into her eyes. Well technically she wasn't lying, she did have something to do, she had her meeting with Sudou to attend. Kotoko didn't want to mention it to Irie-kun though, knowing that he would just make fun of her or something like that.

Irie-kun continued making small talk throughout breakfast and Kotoko mentally bemoaned her luck. Why was he showing interest in her now of all times.

_It doesn't mean anything_, a loud voice in her head insisted. Kotoko frowned but agreed with her mental voice. After all, he had asked Matsumoto on a date, not her. With that thought given her newfound strength Kotoko found it much easier to get through breakfast.

* * *

><p>Naoki woke up extra early the next morning in order to make sure Kotoko didn't leave the house before him. He could tell she was annoyed by this by the scowl she sent his way. He just smirked back. No way was she meeting up with Sudou on his watch.<p>

He frowned internally. Not that he _cared _what she did.

_Then why did you get up early just to make sure she doesn't meet him? _A stubborn voice in his mind said accusingly. It made Naoki feel unsettled. Why did it bother him so much that Kotoko was spending so much time with Sudou?

It wasn't like he had the right to be annoyed; after all he had arranged to go on a date with Matsumoto.

...To spite Kotoko. He had gotten mad at Kotoko during that tennis match and had rather childishly taken it out on Sudou. But then Kotoko had to go and rush to Sudou's side and fawn over him in a disgusting manner that made Naoki's blood boil. And so he had asked Matsumoto out on a date because he knew it would hurt Kotoko. He had looked over his shoulder, taking in her face and the shocked expression she wore and the hurt he could see and it gave him a twisted sense of satisfaction.

Naoki knew Kotoko. He knew that he was constantly on her mind and that it was more than likely that she would bug him about Matsumoto and would stalk him on his date. He had expected to have been barraged by a deluge of questions by now, or for Kotoko to conspire with his mother how to ruin the date.

So why then was she doing none of that? Why was she hanging out with Sudou yet barely talking to him? Why was she not acting like he expected her too?

He squashed down the voice in his head that whispered maybe Kotoko had gotten tired of him and that she really did intend to get over him this time.

Naoki narrowed his eyes as he took in Kotoko brighten up for some strange reason when just a minute ago she had been visibly annoyed with him, wondering what was going through her head to make her so happy. It clearly wasn't about him. Naoki had come to recognise the different expressions she wore around him; Kotoko had no qualms about acting herself around him. He found he could not place the expression on her face.

Unacceptable. He would not stand for this. Hadn't Kotoko declared that she would always love him? He would stop this foolish nonsense of hers; clearly she was more affected by his date with Matsumoto than he thought she would be. She loved him. What could she possibly love about Sudou? Naoki tried to reassure himself.

Despite the fact that Naoki Irie was a genius, graduate of Class A, never once did it occur to him that to ensure that Kotoko retained her love for him; all he had to do was return her feelings.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

Plans

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><p>It was Friday morning, the weather was bright and sunny with a slight breeze and there were only two days left before Irie and Matsumoto's date.<p>

Hand shielding his eyes as he gazed at the sky, Sudou found that the thought of the date didn't bother him as much as it had just a few days ago.

A slight smile tugged at his lips as he sat on the bench where he had arranged to meet with Kotoko, musing at how quickly he had recovered his spirits after watching Matsumoto walking away without a care for his well being.

True he still had feelings for her but at least now Sudou had opened his eyes to how little she cared for him. He could finally admit to himself that he never stood a chance with her.

His phone buzzed in his pockets, alerting him to a received message. Sudou pulled out his phone to read it. He shook his head, not sure to be amused or exasperated when Kotoko's message told him that she couldn't meet with him that morning as Irie insisted on walking with her to college and she couldn't shake him.

Sudou sighed slightly before messaging back that he would meet her after 2nd period, a time he knew Irie would be in an extended lecture. He only knew that because he had memorised Matsumoto's schedule but he didn't dwell on that too much.

He typed the message out and clicked the send button. Since he no longer had to wait for Kotoko Sudou decided to walk around campus for a bit, maybe it would give him an idea what to do next.

It seemed as though Irie was onto them.

Poor Kotoko.

* * *

><p>"<em>If such a thing did occur then my friends would be the first to know. In which case, you would be the last to find out about it<em>."

Reiko Matsumoto replayed those words over and over in her head. She didn't know why she should care what Sudou said but for some reason those words would not leave her alone.

They niggled at her mind, bugging her incessantly that it left her feeling frustrated. Why should she care? It was just Sudou.

Sudou who had previously had feelings for her but now no longer considered her a friend.

Why should she care, it was just Sudou!

'_You should care, how many friends do you have anyway?'_ A voice snickered in her mind.

Reiko felt a little ill at those words that hinted at a truth that she constantly chose not to acknowledge.

For although Reiko Matsumoto was considered popular she could count the number of people she considered friends on one hand.

There was Irie-kun of course, as close to a best friend as she'd ever get.

Then there was Ayako, her younger sister who was as smart and pretty as Reiko but more outgoing. Could she even count a sibling as a friend? If not then her list would significantly be reduced.

Hmm, who else? Reiko got on with her classmates and fellow tennis club members but she never talked to them outside sessions. Nor did she tend to socialise much. She was one of the top students in her class but that didn't come without considerable effort, nor did her skill at tennis.

Reiko envied her sister at times; Ayako was smarter and more skilled than Reiko yet still managed to have a large circle of close friends. Reiko rarely found the time to socialise with the amount of time she spent trying to maintain her top spot.

It wasn't always like this though, Reiko thought wistfully. She remembered her time in elementary school when she had a few close girl friends and when grades and looks didn't matter so much. But then came middle school when exams started to become important and the pressure from her parents to become the top student made Reiko push herself to her limit.

As Reiko strived to do her best, a few of her 'friends' became jealous of her intelligence and top spot in her class. Those people were thankfully few in number. Truthfully it was Reiko's actions of putting her studies before anything else that created a distance between her and those she considered her close friends.

Things became worse when boys started to show an interest in her. Reiko was seen as an example of the perfect women, stunningly beautiful, intelligent, witty and proper. Those girls who had understood of her study habits weren't quite as accepting when they were constantly compared to the model-like girl, or when they found that by hanging around her they would constantly be in her shadow.

Without Reiko noticing, contact between her and her friends grew ever more distant until little more than greetings and polite cordial conversation was all that passed between them.

She didn't have many guy friends either. Reiko had met too many guys who were interested in her as another notch on their bedpost or as a trophy girlfriend. She had no desire to become either and rebuffed those advances, creating a front that made her seem untouchable. Neither did she have time for the boys who fancied themselves irrevocably in love with her despite knowing nothing about her. She could tell that they were smitten by just her looks.

Reiko had thought Sudou to be like that at first. She had noticed the admiration in his eyes when he looked at her. Too her surprise he never actually asked her out even though he was clearly interested.

Instead, thinking back on it, he would always find the time each day to talk to her, find out more about her. Where her aloofness put off most guys, it didn't deter him one bit. Sudou was always there to cheer her on and encourage her and fussed over her if he thought she was pushing herself too hard.

Initially she had found his attentions annoying but had grown to secretly like that there was someone who was not pressurising her to become something other than herself. But Reiko never showed this, not wanting Sudou to mistakenly think that she was in love with him or anything like that.

Then Irie-kun had come into her life and suddenly Reiko found what it was like to be enamoured by someone. Since they shared classes they ended up spending a lot of time together and Reiko was delighted to find how like her Irie-kun was. She found herself becoming uncharacteristically attached to him, this person who knew what it was like to have the weight of many peoples' expectation bearing down on them.

Unconsciously Reiko brushed Sudou off, preferring to spend her time in the company of Irie-kun. She never once considered how her aloof actions affected him. Now she found that she had driven away one of the only people who had truly cared about her, someone who had stayed by her constantly all through the tumultuous time that was high school.

When she reflected on it, Reiko found that she had nobody but herself to blame for it.

* * *

><p>Jinko Komori and Satomi Ishikawa had been best friends with Kotoko since elementary school. They had stuck together through thick and thin, always looking out for each other.<p>

In high school it had been Kotoko who had gained a crush on a boy first and since Satomi and Jinko had no love interests, they instead became interested in helping Kotoko achieve hers.

In hindsight, blowing up a picture of a sleeping Kotoko and Irie-kun, their heads close together as they slept amongst piles of textbooks, and then placing said picture on the school bulletin boards probably wasn't the best of ideas.

In fact, looking back at it now, it was an incredibly stupid idea. Then again at the time both girls had thought that the picture meant Irie cared about Kotoko. They didn't know that he would become angry with the girl and blow up at her.

Satomi was the first to urge Kotoko to give up Irie when he rejected her confession. Jinko lasted a little longer in her support, finally wavering now that they had entered college. They had been college students for almost half a year now.

That made it nearly five years since Kotoko had like Irie, and nearly a year since her confession. Both girls now had their own boyfriends and wanted nothing more than for Kotoko to find a nice guy. Kin-chan, they both agreed, was not the guy for Kotoko. And, as time went on, neither did they think that Irie was the one for her.

Satomi, ever the pessimist out of the trio, though it was cruel that Irie had kissed Kotoko on the night of the high school graduation and then left her floundering, unable to get over him. Satomi sincerely hoped that Irie had not kissed Kotoko just because she intended to get over him. Surely he wasn't that cruel?

Why would Irie ignore Kotoko's affections, kiss her when she resolved to get over him and then ignore her again to waltz off with Matsumoto instead? Cause he was a jerk, that's why!

Jinko had held out for a possible romantic explanation but had given in after she heard that Irie had asked Matsumoto on a date. It was time, both of them resolved, to help Kotoko get over Irie once and for all.

Except, they found, she didn't seem to need their help at all.

Neither of them had been present for that tennis match but Kotoko had told them what happened. They had teased her the next day about her dating Sudou. Of course she had denied the claims but they were surprised when she said nothing of her resolution to love only Irie.

Instead there was a strong resolve in her eyes as if Kotoko was determined to finally achieve something; the same resolve appeared in Sudou's eyes when they had gone to spy on him. Satomi and Jinko had heard what had happened during the tennis match but Kotoko had said nothing about what had happened afterwards. Whatever it was, it must've been pretty big.

They knew she was meeting Sudou again today but were puzzled over the exact relationship between the two. Kotoko had told them that they weren't dating despite the fact they seemed to hang out a lot these past few days.

And it seemed as though the couple were not trying to make their respective crushes jealous either. In fact Kotoko and Sudou didn't act remotely romantic towards each other. Not that this deterred the campus rumour mill, just the fact that the two spent time together was enough to make assumptions that they were a couple.

Whatever their relationship was, Kotoko seemed to be changing, and for the better. Whatever the relationship with Sudou, it seemed to be doing Kotoko a world of good. So this time Jinko and Satomi vowed that they would not meddle.

...With Kotoko and Sudou that is. Annoying Irie however, well, that was a completely different matter altogether. Satomi and Jinko had noticed that Irie seemed to be bugging Kotoko with his presence as of late. So being the good friends that they were, they made it their mission to ensure that Irie would not interfere with Kotoko and Sudou's relationship.

* * *

><p>Funny that just last Friday Kotoko had lamented that Irie-kun had a differing lunch hour to her due to his extended engineering lecture (she hadn't been able to find his timetable but after a few weeks stakeout in engineering department in her free time eventually helped her to establish it anyway).<p>

Now Kotoko was extremely grateful that Professor Oikawa liked to torture her students by giving them intense practical workshops on Fridays because it enable her to meet up with Sudou without worrying that Irie-kun was lurking about.

Irie-kun and lurking were not two things that Kotoko associated with each other but she had found recently that Irie-kun seemed to appear whenever she least wanted him to.

Kotoko parted ways with Satomi and Jinko in the cafeteria. They had raised their eyebrows but had said nothing, something that she was grateful for since Kin-chan was with them. She met Sudou outside at what she now considered to be their bench. Finally they managed to exchange assignments.

She thought Sudou's was rather sweet. Matsumoto didn't know what she was missing. Kotoko blushed a bit when she heard Sudou sniggering over hers. Yeah so she had been shallow as a kid but at least she was honest about it.

Kotoko finished reading first since Sudou's assignment had been shorter than hers. She waited patiently for him to finish.

"Do you know what we need?" Sudou asked.

"A miracle?" Kotoko suggested.

"Well that would be nice but actually I was thinking of an excursion," he replied.

Kotoko scrunched up her face. "An...excursion? Why? Don't tell me you want to get away whilst Matsumoto and Irie-kun have their date?"

Sudou shook his head. "That's not what I meant. Think of it as a mini fieldtrip. We won't even go far, just into the city centre."

She perked up. "A fieldtrip? What for?"

Sudou posed dramatically at it was Kotoko's turn to snigger. "Why, for Sudou and Kotoko's super dramatic makeover, that's why!"

"Makeover!" Kotoko exclaimed. "Why would we need makeovers?"

"Well, isn't it the cliché thing to have a makeover when you're suffering a broken heart?" Sudou asked.

"Hm, yeah but doesn't that usually refer to heart break from break ups?" Kotoko queried. "We're just suffering from unrequited feelings."

"Nonsense!" Sudou exclaimed. "Heartbreak is heartbreak no matter what the reason."

"I'm not sure how a makeover will help," Kotoko said doubtfully.

"Aren't makeovers a way of improving self-esteem?" Sudou argues. "It's a way of creating a new you."

Kotoko giggled slightly. "Somehow I feel as though I should be saying those things, not you. Okay, I'm convinced. When shall we go?" She had a feeling that embarking on a makeover with Sudou of all people would definitely be an experience to remember.

Sudou was quiet for a moment. "What about Sunday?" he asked tentatively.

Kotoko stilled. Sunday... The day of Irie-kun and Matsumoto's date...

She gave a small smile.

"Perfect. What better day to create a new us," Kotoko commented lightly.

Sudou smiled back. He knew Kotoko would probably be thinking of Irie-kun a lot this weekend and what better way to make sure she stuck to the pact than distracting her himself. Granted, she would be distracting him from thoughts of Matsumoto as much as he would distract her from Irie. Still he couldn't help but feel excited about creating a new physical appearance to match his new mental resolve.

Kotoko frowned suddenly. "Sudou, what about tomorrow? What are we supposed to do for a whole day before our makeovers?"

The upperclassman considered her words. What to do for a whole day? Of course they wouldn't be able to _not_ think of Matsumoto and Irie. Hmmm... Sudou brightened. Hey, maybe it wasn't so bad to think of them after all.

"Say Kotoko, I know what I want to do for the next assignment..."

Sudou pulled out a tiny notepad from his bag, handing it to Kotoko.

"What's this for?" she asked curiously. Sudou grinned.

"This is for your assignment tomorrow," he announced.

"Well doesn't getting over heartbreak happen in stages? First there's the denial, then the feelings of rejection despair where you feel like doing nothing but moping. Then comes the period of acceptance where you move on."

Kotoko clapped. "Wow Sudou, you know so much about this kind of thing!"

Sudou scratched his head sheepishly. "Hehe, well, not really." _Well Sudou, if this isn't a sign that you watch too much drama on TV then I don't know what is_. He waited till she took the notepad from him. It was just a small one; it fit snugly in the palm of her hand.

"If we say that Sunday is the day that we finally accept things and move on with our lives, then tomorrow is the last day that we will allow ourselves to mope about those two." He said this firmly, trying to sound confident for his sake as well as hers.

"This assignment is mostly for you Kotoko since you will have to put up with Irie all day whereas I will not see Matsumoto."

Kotoko nodded in determination. "Right, what do you want me to do?"

Sudou reached over to her hand and opened the notepad. With a pen he drew four columns. He drew a positive and negative sign in the first two columns and did the same for the next too. Kotoko tilted her head as she watched him write 'Thoughts' above the first two columns and 'Talk' above the last two.

"I...don't get it," Kotoko concluded when he had finished. Sudou once again when into his lecture pose.

"Well it's like this: tomorrow you can interact with Irie all you want," Sudou explained.

"Eh, what?" Kotoko exclaimed. "But doesn't that go against what we've been trying to do."

Sudou chuckled. "Hehe, but here's where the notepad comes in. You, Kotoko, will be keeping a tally of every good thought you have about Irie, every bad thought, every good thing he says and every bad thing."

He relaxed from his pose. "Then, before you go to bed, you can look at the notepad and see the results. We both know what the results are probably going to be, but the proof of it will strengthen your resolve and help you sleep easy, preparing you for the next stage in Getting Over Heartbreak!"

Kotoko brightened as his idea dawned on her. "That's a great idea. But..." She took the pen from him and drew some more lines leading onto the next page.

He looked at her in surprise. "What was that for?" he asked curiously.

Kotoko laughed sheepishly. "Somehow I don't think that the negative columns are long enough..."

It took a few minutes for Sudou to stop laughing. She laughed herself too, it was ridiculous after all that even she seemed to realise that thinking about and speaking to her crush would result in a lot of negative tallies.

A sudden though made her start. "Hey Sudou, if I'm talking to Irie and trying to tally, he might get suspicious." Kotoko cringed at the thought; Irie-kun always knew when she was up to something.

"Hm," Sudou got into a thinking pose this time, hand on his chin as he pondered this dilemma. It wasn't long before he was sporting another grin. "Hey Kotoko, write my name on the page."

"Huh?" Kotoko wasn't following his train of thought.

"Go on, go on!" Sudou urged. She did as he asked. "Good, now draw a few hearts." She did so and then immediately burst out laughing as she got what he was trying to do.

If Irie-kun did get a hold of the notepad, he would think that she was writing about Sudou! They chuckled for a bit longer, gleeful that their partnership was going so swimmingly.

Sudou, who had been keeping an eye on the time, noted that it was coming up to the end of Matsumoto's and Irie's lecture. They parted ways, both going places where they surely wouldn't bump into the people they were trying to forget. It wouldn't do to ruin their good moods now.

* * *

><p>Reiko met up with Irie-kun in the library later that day during their lunch break. They exchanged the usual pleasantries and soon became immersed in their work. Here she was in the company of someone who equalled her in intelligence, talent and beauty. She should be satisfied yet for some reason Reiko felt a sense of loneliness.<p>

Irie-kun never talked much; she could understand that since she shared the same work ethic he did. She could admit that she had a bit of a crush on him but knew that he absolutely did not feel the same way, not that it would stop her from trying.

She also knew, even if Irie-kun didn't seem to, that he had some sort of feelings for that Aihara girl. Many girls vied for Irie-kun's attention yet he had never paid as much attention to them as he did Aihara-san. Reiko knew that although she was a good match for Irie-kun, the most _logical _match for him, it was not her that held his interest.

She had a lot of admiration for Irie-kun and would happily remain just friends with him. Reiko flirted with him for the most part because it was just banter between friends, and also to keep away girls who bothered him. Although part of her had always secretly hoped that maybe one day he would return her feelings.

On Monday she had been ecstatic when Irie-kun had asked her on a date, even if she knew that he didn't have feelings for her. Now though, Reiko wasn't sure how she felt.

Was it worth it? Was it worth losing Sudou's companionship to gain a date with the guy she was interested in but clearly wasn't interested in her back?

Having had the time to think over it, she wondered why Irie-kun had asked her on a date in the first place when he had rebuffed all her advances before. What had changed?

Behind her she heard the sounds of a chair being pulled out and the sound of books being placed onto a table. There was the rustle of material as someone slid into the chair.

"Hey, did you see Sudou earlier?" a guy whispered loudly enough to carry over to Reiko's table. She paused in her writing, listening contemplatively at the sound of Sudou's name. Looking across at Irie-kun she saw him tense slightly but he continued writing out his notes.

"Yeah!" another guy whispered back excitedly. "It looks like he's getting on well with Aihara-san!"

Her eyes hadn't moved from Irie-kun, giving her the advantage of seeing Irie-kun stop abruptly in his writing. Reiko watched as he raised his head, staring at the guys behind her, not noticing that she was watching him.

"I know, were those _love letters_ they were exchanging? Who even does that anymore?"

"Well, I guess girls find paper letters more romantic than texts and emails. And it is kinda cute..."

"...Dude, you're so lame!" Muffled laughter followed their conversation.

Irie-kun gritted his teeth and stood up abruptly, gathering his stuff.

_I'm right here in front of you_, Reiko thought. _Me, the girl you asked on a date_. He didn't once spare her a glance.

"Irie-kun?" she said softly.

He looked up, a little startled; as if he had forgotten she was there. She found that this didn't surprise her.

"Ah Matsumoto. Sorry but I have to go. I have some things to take care of so I'll see you in class." He spoke these words firmly, Irie-kun never spoke with uncertainty, and then he turned around and left.

Reiko watched him go, knowing where he was really going. He was going to a girl who could never match her in beauty or intelligence yet who he addressed so familiarly whilst he still addressed her by her last name. What was it about Aihara that drew Irie-kun? Wasn't she the better choice?

_Was it worth it Reiko? Was it worth losing Sudou's friendship for this?_

_Are you happy? Haven't you finally got what you wanted?_

Sure Sudou had stopped following her around and Irie-kun had asked her on a date. Things should be perfect yet Reiko couldn't help but feel lonelier than she had ever felt before.

* * *

><p>Naoki ran out of time searching for Kotoko during his lunch break. He wasn't sure what he would have done even if he had managed to find her.<p>

He had travelled with Kotoko to college that morning, part of him wanting to thwart the meeting between her and Sudou, the rest of him wanting to know what exactly they were writing to each other. It looks as though he had missed the chance to observe them this time.

Later that day at home Naoki scrutinised Kotoko at the dinner table. His mother was happy that Kotoko was back to eating dinner with them again. Kotoko was acting like her usual self, chatting happily, even answering his questions when he decided to throw random questions at her.

Yet he couldn't put his finger on it but he felt as though Kotoko was acting slightly different from usual. Her gaze, when it lingered on him, was more contemplative rather than the usual adoration that showed. Naoki wondered what was going through her mind.

Whatever the reason for her strange behaviour, Naoki was positive that it had everything to do with Sudou. If only he could get a look at what they were writing...

Heh, easier said than done. Naoki wouldn't be able to sneak into Kotoko's room easily, not with his mother and Yuki about anyway and they weren't going out this weekend as far as he knew. He dreaded to think what would happen if they caught him sneaking into her room. He would never hear the end of it.

No, Naoki needed to plan this. If he were to sneak into Kotoko's room it would have to be during a time when he was home alone. Again, easier said than done. His mother was a housewife and Naoki came back from college after Yuki and his father arrived home. Kotoko too was usually home before him.

Hopefully Kotoko would slip up and accidentally leave one of the letters lying about, and then he wouldn't have to make these ridiculous plans to sneak into her room.

* * *

><p>Kotoko hadn't marked Sunday on the calendar as being significant in any way but that didn't stop her from staring hard at the date, as if merely gazing at it would make it disappear. She breathed in deeply, mentally scolding herself for caring about something so stupid.<p>

It was Saturday morning, the last day before the dreaded DATE. She breathed in deeply, mentally preparing herself for today's task.

Today was the declared last day of despair and self pity before tomorrow when she and Sudou would embark on their journey of self discovery, the day when they would start putting Matsumoto and Irie-kun behind them.

Yet for some reason, Kotoko didn't feel as down about this as she did a few days ago. She patted the notepad and pen in her skirt pocket.

Yep, she had a feeling that today was actually going to quite fun indeed.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

Weekend Metamorphism

* * *

><p>During the year that Kotoko had come to reside in the Irie household, Naoki had developed some sort of sixth sense that alerted him to when Kotoko was nearby and, more specifically, when she was up to something. However even he had no need of this ability to tell that right now Kotoko was indeed up to something.<p>

It started at breakfast. She had come downstairs and as she seated herself at the table, he had greeted her good morning before she could beat him to it. Kotoko had looked faintly surprised and then returned the greeting before she whipped out a notepad from her pocket and scribbled something down in it.

Naoki counted at least five more instances during the morning meal when the small black notepad made an appearance and it was slowly beginning to irritate him, no matter how irrational he told himself it was.

When Yuki rudely asked what she was doing Kotoko just smiled 'innocently' and replied that she was working on an assignment.

Naoki was not at all convinced and thus in order to find out more about the mysterious contents of the notepad tried to inconspicuously spend the day in Kotoko's presence, not realising he was aiding her in her assignment.

First of all he joined her in the living room where Kotoko had sat herself to watch kids' cartoons. Yuki joined them too but only because there was nothing better to do, not because he had interest in these silly shows.

With a few disparaging remarks and insults about her immaturity, Kotoko just responded to each with an upward quirk or her lips and a few more scribbled jots in the notepad.

Naoki regarded her from the corner of his eye. His date with Matsumoto-san was tomorrow. The usual Kotoko response would be a deluge of questions badgering him for information so she could follow (stalk) him or a look of depression in her eyes at the thought of her beloved Irie-kun with another.

Yet Kotoko just sat there calmly watching kids' TV as if she didn't have a care in the world, clutching the notepad in her hands.

Naoki could admit that he was a more than a little unsettled by this. Could Sudou have had that much of an impact on her in such a small amount of time? He scowled as he recalled that time at tennis training camp when he had discovered Sudou and Kotoko hiding in the bushes, entangled in a rather compromising situation.

At the time he had reacted on impulse, dragging Kotoko away for a brutal tennis practice session, only thinking in hindsight that maybe the two had only been spying on him and Matsumoto and not involved with each other as he had originally thought.

But the two only seemed to grow closer. He had spied them again not too long ago in the science building even though none of the two had classes there, sitting close together, heads bent close as they whispered and joked about something.

Again the rational part of his mind told him that the two had once again come to spy on him and Matsumoto. But then, what the hell was that on Monday?

Kotoko wanted Sudou to win?!

Che, as if. Everyone knew that he was the best player in the tennis club.

Naoki glared at the notebook in her hands as if his gaze would somehow reveal all its secrets. Naoki never knew that one could feel such hatred for a piece of inanimate stationary but hey, you learnt something new every day. He stopped glaring when he caught Yuki looking at him, giving him a look that clearly said that he thought his brother was going insane.

Trying to clear his mind of thoughts of Sudou and Kotoko, Naoki decided that a good old fashioned investigation was in order. He had noticed that the notepad mostly made an appearance when he said something. Naoki decided to test to see if his theory was correct.

"So what are you doing tomorrow?" Naoki asked casually.

Kotoko looked at him askance. The notepad, he noticed, was left shut. "Nothing much," Kotoko said with a shrug. "Possibly meeting my friends, that's all."

Naoki frowned. Not the reaction he'd been expecting. And she hadn't even alluded to his date with Matsumoto at all!

"Hmmm," Naoki tried to sound casual. "So where are you going? You'd better not stalk me on my date tomorrow." He instantly regretted saying it but was surprised when Kotoko merely shook her head in exasperation and jotted something in the notepad.

"Don't worry Irie, I can assure you that I won't be anywhere near you and Matsumoto tomorrow," Kotoko drawled, looking at him with an expression he could not define in those large, brown eyes. Naoki couldn't tell whether she was being serious or not. Usually he could tell when she was troubled by him but Kotoko was calm and composed.

He looked at her in disbelief. Kotoko, the girl who had been obsessed with him for years and who kind-of stalked him had just practically declared that she wasn't bothered at all by his date with Matsumoto.

Naoki was bothered by this. It bothered him a lot. But only because Kotoko was obviously up to something stupid again. As usual it was up to him to make sure that Kotoko induced damage was kept to a minimum.

He cast a glance towards the notepad and saw that Yuki was doing the same. Yuki turned, catching his big brother's eye.

In the end the two genius brothers conspired together to concoct a plan. Yuki was instrumental in this, giving out the orders of what to do as Naoki still seemed to be denying the fact that he was curious about the notepad.

They started out by demanding Kotoko to do small tasks for them and she obliged, taking the notepad with her much to their annoyance. No matter what they asked, for her to fetch them snacks, check on Chibi or leave them to talk she left with the notepad hidden firmly away in her pocket.

Next when Yuki saw her walk down the stairs with the notepad in hand he pretended to trip up. Kotoko surged forward to catch him as he had planned but he was dismayed to find that she had retained hold of the notepad.

Then Naoki decided to try and fluster her into surrendering the notepad. He kept getting close to her, sitting beside her and leaning in towards her, 'accidentally' touching her. Kotoko squirmed uncomfortably each time but did not give up her prize.

In the end Yuki suggested they go in for the ambush. There was no way Kotoko would be able to hold off both of them at once if they simply tried to take it from her. So they went into the kitchen to confront her but to their surprise Kotoko rushed to her room when her mobile phone rang and simply left the notepad on the table.

Naoki wondered who on earth she had to talk to so eagerly. His thoughts went sour as he thought of the possibility of Sudou. No matter, at least now he would find out whatever secrets she had written down. He snatched the offending bit of stationary up eagerly and devoured its contents. His thoughts, if possible, turned even more sour.

Naoki stared at the notepad in disbelief. What the hell was this? Why was Sudou's name written on it, clearly in Kotoko's handwriting? And what was with all the hearts?

He scanned the writing in the columns. Thoughts, negative and positive. Speech, negative and positive. His thoughts were swirling around angrily but then the logical part of his mind kicked into gear.

Kotoko had mostly written in it when he had spoken but there had also been several times she had written something down when he had not spoken at all. What was she doing?

Suddenly it clicked. Kotoko was comparing Sudou to him. Obviously she was trying to see who was better. Che, by the amount of negative points that Sudou had, he wasn't faring very well. Naoki put the pad down, feeling much better now that he had figured it all out. Now he had seen the notepad he didn't feel so worried over it.

* * *

><p>Yuki had noticed the subtle mood change in his brother as he finished reading the notepad. His brother's mood had lifted and he left the room in a somewhat calmer mood.<p>

The young boy looked at the notepad, curious to see for himself what exactly Kotoko had written. First impressions were that it was a list of attributes of some guy called Sudou. Yuki had seen Kotoko write in it when Irie spoke and assumed at first, like Naoki, that Kotoko was comparing this Sudou to his brother as a potential love interest.

However his keen eye, honed from his past experience of reading Kotoko's diary and assignments when she was in high school had often seen Naoki's name pop up a lot, carefully and elaborately drawn. The hearts too were carefully drawn, nothing like the crude scribbles that were jotted down onto this page.

This gave Yuki the inkling that maybe that the chart wasn't all that it appeared to be.

Hmph. This bore some investigating.

Of several facts Yuki was sure of. The first was that Kotoko had strong feelings for his poor, suffering brother.

The second was that Kotoko had somehow bewitched him and Naoki did indeed have some feelings for her in return, if that stolen kiss at the holiday village was anything to go by.

The third fact was that Kotoko was up to something weird and it was affecting his poor brother's sanity.

Fourth fact: it was up to Yuki to help his brother. Naoki was after all his idol and there wasn't much Yuki wouldn't do for him.

Fact number five: Yuki didn't know what to do. Is he supposed to help that idiot Kotoko to get together with his brother and make his brother happy or does he let that idiot Kotoko get together with this Sudou guy and make his brother unhappy for a while before he eventually found someone better than that airhead?

Hastily thought up fact number six: situations like these were best left up to adults and it wasn't any of his business anyway.

* * *

><p>She had known they were after the notepad and in the end had just left it for them so that Irie-kun would stop getting close to her. Kotoko was becoming uncomfortable being in Irie-kun's persistent presence and anyway, it's not like they would know what the notepad was really about. So the next plan they executed Kotoko had set her alarm to go off with her ringtone melody and then had 'accidentally' left the notepad on the table as she high-tailed it to the refuge of her room. She wondered what the genius brothers would think if they knew she had figured out their plan.<p>

Kotoko couldn't pretend that she wasn't bothered by Irie-kun's presence. Sure she had intended to seek him out anyway to carry out her assignment but it turned out in the end she didn't have to, he had sought _her_ out and_ willingly_ talked to her. And that bothered her _a lot_.

She really did not know what to think of Irie-kun's words and actions anymore. He had belittled her in front of the entire Class A and Class F at their graduation party but had then stolen a kiss from her. Then he had returned to acting his usual cold self, leaving Kotoko unsure about the relationship between them.

Irie-kun berated her for seeking his attention yet said nothing when Matsumoto clung to him in a manner that was way more invasive of his personal space than anything Kotoko had done. Maybe that was alright for him seeing as he seemed to respect the other woman. But then why did he have to go and make sarcastic and cruel comments when she just stood by or helped Sudou?

Kotoko was admittedly heartbroken by his attentions to Matsumoto but at the least she allowed them to maintain their relationship in peace. Was it too much to ask for Irie-kun to let her move on and get over him? Why did he have to bug her so much when he had often said that she was a nuisance?

She contemplated what it would be like if she were in a relationship with Irie-kun. Would he become the chivalrous prince in her daydreams or would he remain his usual hot and cold self, only speaking and interacting with her when it suited him? Kotoko felt very strongly that it was the latter. She doubted Irie-kun would change his behaviour for any girl. This led her to deeper thought and eventually she asked herself a question that she hadn't thought to ask herself before: would she actually be happy in a relationship with Irie-kun?

The time leading up to the moment she had first spoken to him, Kotoko had mistaken Irie-kun for her Prince Charming. Now that she knew his real mannerisms she still liked him and yearned for a relationship with him. She had daydreamt of a fairytale romance and romantic declarations of love that she now knew would never come from him. Kotoko had wasted so much time romanticising thoughts of Irie-kun that she had never stopped to think what being in a relationship with him would really be like.

Cooking him meals and preparing bento boxes to show her love? Not with her cooking skills, and besides, Irie-kun was an infinitely better cook than she was. Supporting him and cheering him on in his work? Well, hadn't all her attempts before just hindered him, and hadn't he said that he was intelligent and capable enough that he didn't need her support? Exactly what had Kotoko thought that she could give to Irie-kun besides her endless love that he claimed to have no use for?

Kotoko allowed herself to imagine the most likely possibility: Irie-kun monotonously asking her out for a date and herself gladly and excitedly profusely accepting. She would be happy, Mrs Irie would be happy and Irie-kun would be...his usual self. Kotoko would be confident that she had his affections but then as he would continue to act the same she would begin to doubt herself. Then he would probably still make snide remarks, cutting into her self confidence and making her insecure.

Being as handsome as he was Irie-kun would attract the attention of much more capable and beautiful women and if she tried to voice her insecurities he would most likely snap at her for being childish. So Kotoko would drift along, not knowing where she stood with him, constantly yearning for his attention even though they are together and only getting it when he deemed fit, and wondering if he had only asked her out for convenience and to get his mother off his back.

It was a grim scenario that Kotoko had never thought of before and she uncomfortably noticed that it was just like her situation with him now. If she were to actually get together with him would their relationship be the same as it is now just with a different label? Kotoko squirmed uncomfortably at these unwelcome thoughts.

Could she really be happy like that? Could she really be happy pining after his attention and wondering if she were really loved?

No, that was her answer, **no**. For all her romantic delusions Kotoko Aihara knew what she wanted in a relationship. She wanted someone who would appreciate, treasure and respect her, not someone like Kin-chan who smothered her or somebody who belittled her, like Irie-kun. And in turn she would support, love and respect her partner and always try to be there for him.

Despite all his declarations and attentions, Kotoko knew that she would never get the type of relationship she wanted if she yielded to Kin-chan. And now she was really facing up to the fact that she wouldn't get that type of relationship if she continued pursuing Irie-kun.

Having finally assimilated this, Kotoko allowed herself to ponder another question: what if Irie-kun was acting like this because he had feelings for her after all? The mere idea seemed so far-fetched and ludicrous.

Kotoko was the Queen of Taking the Little Things Irie-kun did and Making it into A Way of Expressing His Feelings to Her. She had watched him for far too long not to notice that his behaviour was far from the norm.

Kotoko may not have the book smarts but she was no fool. Maybe that was his intention all along; lead her to believe that he was interested in her so that she would chase after him again. Then, when the moment was ripe for public humiliation he would once again crush her feelings with his cruel words. It was quite sad that she could actually see that happening as a very real possibility; it was a far more realistic possibility than Irie-kun declaring he loved her anyway. Because hey, why else would he speak so much of his date with Matsumoto if not to torture her and tempt her to follow them?

She supposed it was all a game for him. He was Irie-kun, graduate of Class A and a genius who was way above normal people like her. Doing things like hanging out with friends and gossiping were way too mundane for him. Instead he had to play with the feelings of a love struck girl and turn her into a puppet, pulling her along by the strings of her emotions.

Well not any longer. Tomorrow marked the start of a new Kotoko. Starting from tomorrow Kotoko would start afresh and rid herself of her Irie-kun addiction.

As the time kept closer Kotoko found that she couldn't wait for tomorrow to come.

* * *

><p>It was Sunday and Kotoko was the first to wake up in the Irie household bright and early. She left as Oba-sama woke up, only stopping to greet her good morning before she left the house. Today she intended her time to be completely Irie-free.<p>

In the likelihood that Irie-kun ruined her good mood later on Kotoko had made arrangements with Jinko to sleepover at her house and go with her to college the next day. Jinko had agreed readily, especially when Kotoko had revealed her plans to embark on a makeover with Sudou. Satomi had been informed and she would be there too. The two girls were excited and only disappointed that they weren't the one accompanying her but they understood that this was something that would help her and Sudou.

So now here she was walking besides Sudou as they contemplated what to do first for their Grand Makeover. He suggested that she get a haircut. According to him, that was the number one makeover objective girls went for when they were heartbroken. She agreed, thinking that she could do with a change seeing as she had the same hairstyle since elementary school.

But first, what to do with him? Kotoko looked at him critically, trying to think of ways to change his appearance. She grinned as the thought of something and voiced her opinion to him.

Sudou only stared at her in horror. "No, not the moustache!"

Kotoko glared at her, hands on hips. "Hey, you're making me get a haircut so you should do something equally as dramatic. And seeing as your hair is too short to cut, unless you want to go bald, the moustache it is."

Sudou wilted at this logic. "But my manliness..." he protested.

"Will not be affected whatsoever," Kotoko said firmly. "Who said that moustaches had anything to do with manliness? Irie-kun has hordes of girls after him and he doesn't have one."

Huh, that was true. Come to think of it, he had only grown it in the first place to make him appeal to Matsumoto and get her to respect him. In hindsight Sudou had no idea why growing facial hair would affect how Matsumoto respected him. He let out a sigh and gave his assent to Kotoko. She smiled encouragingly.

"Besides hair grows so if you don't like it you can always grow it back," Kotoko said motivationally as they continued on their way. He directed them both to the barbershop that he was familiar with.

Sudou sat in the chair, looking into the mirror with slight trepidation. Kotoko had left, uncomfortable with sitting with the other guys in the waiting area and so had popped out to buy some hairstyle magazines.

His barber grinned at his reflection with an almost sadistic grin on his face. Apparently he'd been itching to get rid of Sudou's moustache for a while now. Who knew?

Sudou stared sadly as his carefully grown facial hair fell to the barbershop floor. His face looked so different without it and he almost felt awkward, that is, until Kotoko came back and gaped at him in awe.

"You look great!" she exclaimed, making him blush a little. "You were always handsome but now you look super handsome!"

He accepted her praise almost shyly, thinking that she was only being kind. But as they walked along the street and more than one woman threw him an appreciative glance Sudou felt his confidence rise.

Kotoko had to phone the ever fashionable Satomi for a suggested hairdresser since Kotoko was not so knowledgeable about these things. It took them a while to get to where Satomi suggested but luckily it took them further away from where Irie-kun and Matsumoto would be.

Kotoko explained to the hairdresser what she wanted and showed her a few pictures that she liked. Although she wasn't sure what styles would suit her best Kotoko knew that she wanted the ultimate result to be something sophisticated. The hairdresser nodded confidently and set about prepping and washing her hair.

She almost gasped at the first snip of the scissors. Kotoko watched the descent of the first auburn lock as it fell to the floor. She was actually doing this! Looking back into the mirror she caught Sudou's eye and he smiled at her, giving a thumbs up before engrossing himself in a fashion magazine.

Kotoko was tempted to close her eyes but instead watched as each cut was made, watching herself in the mirror as her appearance slowly changed. Her hair was cut into a sharp graduated bob, with her hair shorter at the back of her head, giving way to longer locks that just touched her shoulders. Her fringe was snipped gently and straightened out. She marvelled at how sophisticated she suddenly looked. A good four to five inches of her hair lay in a mess on the floor.

At the end Kotoko was extremely pleased with the result and Sudou had long ago abandoned his gossip rag to watch in appreciation at her transformation.

"You look good," Sudou said approvingly. "Not only does that style make you look sophisticated but you seem brighter, more radiant. See, these makeover things really do work!" It was with a spring in her step that she left with him feeling as though the turmoil in her heart had been cut away with her locks of hair.

The wind threaded through her new hairstyle, caressing the back of her neck. Kotoko marvelled at how refreshing it felt. Looking at Sudou, her lips quirked as he once again rubbed the spot where his moustache had been. Ah, but their makeover session wasn't over yet!

Side by side they blazed a trail through the nearest shopping mall. For Sudou, who usually wore polo shirts, tracksuit bottoms and other sporty clothes, Kotoko picked out a few nice shirts that suited him well and made him look rather dashing, especially with the first few buttons undone. He himself picked out a dark midnight blue jacket a few pairs of dark blue denim jeans. To complete the look Kotoko insisted he buy a pair of sunglasses too and at one point she laughingly tossed a box of Calvin Klein boxers towards him. She highly suspected that he actually bought them too.

Kotoko had thought that Sudou would get bored when it came to shopping for her clothes but he loyally stuck with her and even wandered off, coming back with his own selection of suggestions. One of his finds, in a quirky vintage shop, was a real treasure. It was a wine red leather jacket with buckle details on the cuffs. Kotoko drooled over it and fell in love with it at once. Sudou commented that it would go nicely with her hairstyle and with that she knew she had to try it on.

It fitted perfectly and Kotoko knew for sure she would buy it even if it would cost more than half the amount she had allocated for clothes shopping. Luckily the clothes she already had at home were quite versatile and would suit her despite her new hairstyle.

With her remaining money she managed to buy a pair of brown heeled boots that were on sale and a versatile black mini dress that Sudou explained she could work in many different ways. When she had asked Sudou how he knew all this he explained that he had three younger sisters who regularly insisted he watched as they put on their own fashion shows. Kotoko was surprised to learn this new information. She was constantly learning new things about him that she doubted Matsumoto knew.

Altogether Kotoko was happy with her makeover and she had created a more mature and tough look compared to the usual bows, lace and frills that she usually went for. She couldn't wait to wear her new outfit to college tomorrow.

* * *

><p>Whilst Sudou and Kotoko embarked on a shop till you drop spree, the two people they had successfully banished from their minds met up for the greatly hyped up date. Though if the two reformers had indeed witnessed the date their resolves might've been tested. Luckily they were far away having too much fun to think of <em>them<em>.

From the start Reiko realised that she didn't fully have Irie-kun's attentions. They met at the JR (Japanese Railway) and caught the train to the city centre, finding somewhere to have lunch. There were a few awkward pauses as they both realised that they didn't know what to talk about with each other. These moments would pass and they would move back into safe territory, talking about tennis and their studies.

A few times Reiko tried to press for his opinion on some political issue or a particular book but his answers were vague and short, as if he were only half paying attention. As they sat eating lunch and made small talk she noticed his eyes wandering, as if he were waiting for something to happen. At one point she caught him scrutinising a large potted plant, most likely trying to work out if it could conceal the shape of a certain someone.

She knew what Irie-kun was thinking about, or rather, who he was thinking about. In truth her mind wasn't quite on him either, Reiko couldn't help but think of Sudou. She wondered if he was with Aihara right now, the girl who Irie-kun was no doubt thinking about. Somehow the thought of Sudou and Aihara together bothered her a lot more than Irie-kun's lack of attention. Reiko bet they were having way more fun than she was anyway.

Reiko hadn't known what to expect from her date with Irie-kun, especially since she knew they both had their minds on other people. She was struck with how much this seemed like one of their study sessions except in a different setting, and without the books.

However this was what she had wanted and now she had to deal with it even it wasn't all that she thought it would be.

* * *

><p>After hours of enthusiastic trawling and with their money well spent the two collapsed into seats in the food hall, inhaling the smell of their cheap fast food eagerly.<p>

"I had a good time today," Kotoko said earnestly. "I haven't felt this good in a long time. I really do feel like I'm on the way to becoming someone new, someone better."

Sudou leant against his plastic seat with a content smile and agreed with her. "It feels nice to do things without worrying about what sort of impression you're making," he said. "We don't have to waste our time trying to please them now."

Kotoko grinned. "Indeed. To commemorate our resolution, let's make a toast!"

They lifted their drinks up into the air. "To Irie-kun and Matsumoto-san," Kotoko said.

Sudou touched his juice carton to hers. "May they be happy together and from this day forward may we both be happy without them and live life for ourselves."

They finished drank their juice and ate their food in cheery moods feeling confident that they were finally ready to move on in their lives.

* * *

><p>Naoki couldn't remember what the movie was about. It probably had something to do with the fact that his attention had barely been on the screen but he didn't want to admit that to himself.<p>

Reiko had been quiet and hadn't said much to him after lunch. He was vaguely surprised by the lack of clinginess from her. She had looked around a few times as if she were expecting to see someone but he had no idea who. Maybe she too was expecting to see Kotoko lurking about.

But Kotoko hadn't come. This was extremely unlike her and he worried a bit that she might've done something stupid again and gotten into trouble.

It was only later when he got home and his mother informed him that Kotoko was sleeping over at a friend's house did it finally occur to him that Kotoko had chosen not to follow him on his date.

The girl who stalked him constantly on campus and refused to give up her love for him hadn't tried to sabotage the date between him and Matsumoto.

Kotoko, the girl who had loved him for years, had chosen to spend her day not caring what he was up to.

Naoki felt uneasy at this sudden revelation. She couldn't do that! Kotoko wasn't _allowed_ to get over him. Didn't she say she loved him and him only?

He felt his hands clench into fists ad he tried to control his anger. Naoki knew who was to blame. It was all Sudou's fault!

That was it! Naoki was going to find out what was going on between Kotoko and Sudou and when he found out he would put a stop to it once and for all.


	6. Chapter 6

Hello! First of all, thank you for all the reviews, follows and favs. 

Secondly,I'm really, really, really sorry it's been so long that I updated this fic. I'd planned up to chapter 5 but after that I had no idea what to do with the plot after that and had massive writer's block for a long time. I've now written out a story plan which should make things easier to write but if you have any suggestions I'd love to hear them.

I will try and update as often as I can but I'm now working full time so it may be hard to find time to write but I don't plan to put any of my stories on hiatus. I've hopefully corrected the mistakes from previous chapters too but if you spot any errors please let me know.

Sorry again for the long wait, I hope you enjoy this chapter :)

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><p><strong>Chapter Six<strong>

**Some Kind of Revolution  
><strong>

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><p>Naoki wasn't sure why he was waiting around on campus. This absolutely wasn't like him at all especially considering the fact that his class started in less than ten minutes and if he wanted to be on time he should've headed over two minutes ago. If anybody asked, he would say that he was merely waiting for a friend. Despite his conflicted feelings, Naoki absolutely would not admit to himself, or anyone else, that he was hanging around to catch a glimpse of Kotoko when she finally turned up with her two sidekicks.<p>

Yesterday he had been all but ready to blow up at Sudou and demand Kotoko to explain exactly what she was up to. However after a restless night of sleep, Naoki's logic finally caught up with his brain. When he considered things with his usual calm demeanour, he realised that he had absolutely no logical reason to be mad at Sudou. That didn't stop him from feeling intense dislike towards the other guy though.

Irrational, he was being extremely and uncharacteristically irrational, Naoki knew that. He had rejected Kotoko in the beginning but they had end up forming a tentative friendship, one which he constantly put at risk through his thoughtless words and actions. He had claimed not to like her but then had kissed her knowing full well that she would fall harder for him and that had been his intention. He reacted without thinking, which was unlike him but then again, Kotoko was unlike anyone he had ever met, and he'd had his fair share of persistent fan-girls. Although he was reluctant to admit it, Naoki had to concede that despite his claims otherwise; he wasn't ready to let Kotoko move on yet.

For what end, he did not know, why did he not want her to move on yet he chose not to date her? Naoki was comfortable with the way things had become, with Kotoko and her father living in the Irie household and livening things up. Kotoko's patterns and habits had become reassuringly familiar to him. Did he fear that he would lose that if she were to fall in love with someone else? If so, that really was selfish of him. It was his fault really, asking Matsumoto out on a date like that but Naoki hadn't expected Kotoko to react the way she did, reacting by _moving on_.

"Whoa," some guy behind him said in obvious appreciation of something. "Is that the Aihara chick? Since when did she look so good?"

Naoki turned around so fast that he almost hurt his neck. Kotoko was here already? Where? How did he manage to miss her? He looked in the direction that the guy and several other people were looking in. He didn't see her, just another girl who had short red similar to the colour of Kotoko's, walking with two girls, one with blonde hair, the other black hair. The girls stopped suddenly as a blushing boy stepped in front of them, stammering something.

Wait.

Red haired girl walking with a blonde haired and black haired girl? Kotoko's two best friends had blonde and black hair, didn't they? True the other two girls did look like Kotoko's friends but maybe there just happened to be another trio of girls who looked liked Kotoko and her friends because no way could that girl be Kotoko, her hair was too short and the red jacket, black dress and brown boots were far removed from the usual fashion that Kotoko usually wore. Naoki was certain that the girl was not Kotoko.

His conviction was shattered a scant few seconds later when the girls turned to wave goodbye to the guy as he walked off in a daze. In that instant Naoki saw that the blonde and black haired girls were indeed Satomi and Jinko, but that didn't interest him in the slightest due to the fact he had just received one of the biggest shocks of his life when he saw that the red haired girl was indeed Kotoko. However this was definitely not the Kotoko that he knew. This was some vixen impersonating Kotoko.

Gone were the long, flowing auburn locks that Kotoko had confessed to maintaining diligently for years. In their place was a sharp, sleek bob that managed to do something Naoki thought impossible: it made Kotoko look sophisticated. Kotoko had what one could consider a 'cute, pretty face,' and her new hairstyle only emphasised her favourable features. Her new clothes only served to enhance her new sophisticated look, creating a style that wasn't try-hard or tacky. Kotoko looked effortlessly good and not at all like someone who had only dressed up to impress someone. As Naoki got over his shock and grudgingly admitted to himself that Kotoko looked good, he became acutely aware that his was not the only one who thought so.

His furious gaze stayed too long on those who were staring stupidly at Kotoko that Naoki ended up missing his chance to speak to her. She was there in the distance but there was no way that Naoki was going to chase after her, especially in front of so many people. He didn't particularly want to talk to her whilst she was with Satomi and Jinko anyway. Of course, not that he had intended to talk to Kotoko in the first place. Naoki didn't even know what he would've said to Kotoko if he had gone over to her.

Naoki frowned once again. If he wasn't planning to talk to Kotoko then why was he even standing her anyway? He had told himself over and over again that he didn't care what Kotoko was up to but he had found himself standing in this spot anyway for no good reason. Annoyingly, it seemed that even he was capable of illogical actions from time to time, increasingly so since he had become acquainted with Kotoko. Naoki looked at his watch, incidentally the one that Kotoko had gifted him for his birthday. He sighed as he noticed the time. Great. Now he was definitely going to be late for class.

* * *

><p>Kotoko was unaware of the appreciative stares she drew until a delighted Satomi pointed it out to her. All at once she became aware of the way that some of the guys they passed looked at her in admiration. Some of these guys she was even acquainted with yet they looked at her as if seeing her for the very first time. Kotoko tried not to squirm in embarrassment. The attention was nice in a way and it was something Kotoko had never experienced before, well, except from Kin-chan.<p>

To be honest, since high school Kotoko had been oblivious to other guys other than Irie-kun. She hadn't wanted anyone other than Irie-kun's attention. She didn't really speak to guys outside her class anyway and her male classmates were often cowed away by Kin-chan if they so much as looked at Kotoko for more than ten seconds. So yeah, this was a new experience for her. The feeling it gave her was definitely not unwelcome. It was nice to know that even if Irie-kun did not find her appealing then there definitely seemed to be guys that were interested in her.

At that moment however Kotoko had no intentions of dating, at least not yet. She and Sudou had embarked on an adventure to discover and establish themselves. She didn't want to end up wasting her time again on a hopeless, one-sided love.

* * *

><p>Reiko sat amongst a cluster of students, vaguely registering Naoki murmuring an apology to the professor before taking a seat at the front.<p>

"I wonder if Matsumoto and Irie had a fight," a girl muttered to her neighbour. "They're not sitting together, and he came separately to her."

"Yeah," the other girl whispered back. "Maybe their date didn't go so great." Reiko rolled her eyes as she heard the girls gossiping.

"They look so good together though, they're perfect for each other," the other girl sighed. "I've never seen two people more well-matched."

Reiko huffed inwardly. Really, just because two people looked good together did not mean they were a match made in heaven.

"Yeah, they're well matched indeed, both of them are stuck up and arrogant," a guy piped up, causing the girls to giggle quietly. Reiko just clenched her teeth and ignored them. She just stared straight ahead coolly as though their words did not affect her.

People were always so eager to judge and speculate on things that didn't concern them, Reiko observed. She'd endured this before in high school, other students would speculate on her love life and grades when it was really none of their business. Girls loathed her when she talked to guys and they loathed her when she turned away admirers. She was both admired and envied for her skills and grades; others would put her on a pedestal whilst all the while trying to find ways to knock her back down.

Whilst in some respects Reiko could find similarities between herself and Irie-kun, she would bet any large sum of money that he didn't have to put up with the troubles she had to. Nobody questioned how he attained his grades, when girls whispered that Reiko must be sleeping with the teacher to achieve such good marks, because it was such a crime to be beautiful and intelligent. She had never seen guys trying to pick a fight with Irie-kun because the girl they liked admired him instead; she had endured countless classroom encounters by girls incensed that their crushes liked her instead. Irie-kun was cool and aloof by choice; Reiko acted that way out of a necessity to prove herself.

Why had she been so eager to catch Irie's attention anyway when before she had been so focused on her own goals? Ah, she remembered now.

At first Reiko hadn't been overtly interested in Irie at all, only noting to herself that he was exceptionally handsome. He started to stand out to her more and more when he didn't incessantly bug her like most of the other guys she had classes with. The two of them were constantly paired together for projects and Reiko found a partner who was equally as focused and studious as herself. Irie-kun did not feel the need to judge her and accepted her as she was. It was a pleasant feeling and she found herself craving more of such company. She wanted to maintain that closeness, that camaraderie.

It occurred to her that she could have that closeness with Irie even if she was not in a relationship with him. In fact, having a relationship with him might irreversibly change the steady friendship they shared. She was happy with the friendship that she had with him now and the date with Irie yesterday had shown Reiko that a relationship between them wouldn't work. They had a great camaraderie between them but there was no chemistry, no passion or any real romantic feelings. It had just been an infatuation on her part.

At least now she realised this. The two of them could go back to the way things were before and just remain friends. Besides even if he refused to admit it, Reiko knew that he felt something for Aihara.

After class she made her way out of the building and down the steps. As she was mid step she felt someone bump into her and she stumbled.

A pair of strong arms caught her mid-fall. Reiko stared a moment in surprise at the arms that held her and looked up to thank her rescuer but the words died on her lips.

"Matsumoto-san? Are you alright?" asked the familiar voice.

"Sudou?" she asked incredulously. "Is that you?" It couldn't be, could it?"

She blinked as she was exposed to that familiar smile. "Yep, it's me," he said cheerfully.

He looked so different without his moustache and Reiko might have thought him a stranger had she not seen those familiar eyes that looked at her in concern. She had never really thought about it before but it suddenly dawned on her how handsome Sudou was. Judging by the giggles and whispers being cast his way she wasn't the only one to think so either.

"Jeez that Matsumoto really is something," one girl muttered. "First she steals Irie from Aihara and now she's all over Sudou-sempai."

Reiko flinched at the words but Sudou just glared at the girl who had spoken until she became flustered and scurried away. He set Reiko straight gently, steadying her on her feet.

"Are you ok?" he repeated. Despite the harsh words he had spoken to her last week, his face radiated nothing but concern. Reiko felt ashamed knowing she hadn't done anything to merit such concern from him.

"I'm...I'm fine." Reiko was mortified to find herself stuttering. She never stuttered, ever. What was wrong with her?! "I was just tired after a long lecture and wasn't concentrating on where I was going."

Sudou smiled easily with the friendly smile that he often bestowed upon her and Reiko's eyes zeroed in on his chiselled features on their own accord. "Must've been one heck of a lecture to make you this tired."

Reiko could only nod dumbly in replied, finding herself somewhat tongue-tied. Sudou released her arms and took a step back, putting some distance between them.

"I understand that you like to push yourself to do as much as you can because you're smart and intelligent. Just don't overwork yourself ok?" He flashed that smile again and then he was off, leaving Reiko with a sick feeling in her stomach.

She had someone who cared about her and appreciated her real self but she had been too blind to see it. As Reiko watched him go, and watched other girls watching him go, she found herself wondering what Sudou felt for her now. Right there and then she vowed to fix things between them. Even if Sudou no longer had romantic feelings towards her Reiko hoped that at the least he would want to be her friend.

* * *

><p>Naoki casually strode into the cafeteria, his hawk-like eyes observing the room critically in search of Kotoko. However Kotoko wasn't there liked he'd hoped she would be but considering he did not know her timetable there had been no guarantee that she would be there anyway. Maybe this was a good thing, considering he still did not know what he would say to her anyway.<p>

Well since he was in the cafeteria perhaps there was something else he could achieve instead. Naoki grimaced slightly as he turned and walked purposefully towards where Kinnosuke Ikezawa stood serving food to students. What had the world come to, Naoki thought, when he purposely sought the company of Kotoko's love-struck stalker?

There was a lull in customers buying lunch and Naoki almost paused in his steps as he saw a pretty blonde co-worker come up beside Kinnosuke and engage him in a conversation. The two talked and joked about something, both of them laughing freely. Kinnosuke smiled at the girl and there was something in his expression, an emotion in his eyes that Naoki couldn't quite place.

The two looked up attentively as he stood in front of them, expecting a customer. Kinnosuke grimaced slightly when he saw it was Naoki instead. The girl smiled, touching his arm gently before disappearing back into the kitchen.

"Yeah Irie, so what will it be?" Kinnosuke asked, as if he would rather be serving anyone else but Naoki at that moment.

Naoki looked at Kinnosuke with his usual stoic expression, annoying the other guy slightly. "Have you seen Kotoko?"

Kinnosuke looked startled, obviously not expecting _that_ question. "No, why? Since when have _you_ ever been concerned with her whereabouts anyway?"

Naoki sighed impatiently. "Never mind where she is. I'm asking if you've seen her"

Kinnosuke looked confused. "Yeah, she came in earlier to say hello and chat for a bit. Why?"

"And?" Naoki pressed.

"...And what?" Kinnosuke asked, having no idea what Irie was expecting him to say.

"Well what did you think of her?" Naoki asked, annoyed that Kinnosuke wasn't more forthcoming with his answers.

Understanding dawned on the cafeteria worker's face. "Oh I see," Kinnosuke said. "You just wanted to know about her makeover." He smiled brightly. "I think she looks good. Well to me Kotoko always looks good but she looks nice with her hair short too"

Naoki eyed him in disbelief. "Is that all?"

Kinnosuke's smiled faltered. "Well yeah, what were you expecting me to say?"

"Aren't you concerned with her new appearance?" Naoki asked.

"Er...no. I think she looks great. A lot of girls change their style every now and again, it's part of growing up," Kinnosuke said as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Naoki sighed. "But aren't you concerned that her new look is a little...provocative?"

Kinnosuke did a great impression of a gaping fish. "Huh? What are you talking about? Kotoko looked just fine! What are you thinking coming in here and saying things like that about her?" Kinnosuke asked crossly.

Naoki raised his hands in mock defence. "Hey, don't get mad at me. I was just warning you. A lot of guys seem to have taken an interest in Kotoko. Maybe you should be worried now that you have a lot more guys to compete against if you want her to like you." He smirked inwardly. Kinnosuke was bound to get jealous hearing that. Maybe he would go and confront Kotoko and give her a good talking to, and in the process scare away some of the admirers she seemed to have picked up.

Kinnosuke gave him a long, hard, measured look. "Is it really me who should be worried?"

Naoki shifted uncomfortably. "What are you talking about?" Shouldn't Kinnosuke have blown his top by now and run off blindly searching for Kotoko?

"Never mind," Kinnosuke said cryptically. Seeing Naoki continue to stare at him stoically, he scowled in annoyance. Kinnosuke sighed, stirring a ladle around in a pot restlessly. "Kotoko and I have been friends for years and I've liked her for the longest time but I've realised that just because I really like her doesn't mean she has to like me back. I've realised that if Kotoko hasn't returned my feelings after all this time then she probably never will return those feelings. It's better for me to get over it and move on." He stopped stirring the pot and looked at Naoki sternly. "Now if that's all you wanted, you can leave now. I'm busy and you're holding up the queue." Naoki looked behind him and realised that indeed a crowd had formed behind him. He moved away abruptly and walked away, thinking over what Kinnosuke had said.

Naoki was unsettled by the calm way that Kinnosuke said all that he had. What happened to the green-eyed monster that reared it's ugly head whenever another guy so much as mentioned Kotoko's name?

He stopped as another thought occurred to him. Could Kotoko possibly feel the same way as Kinnosuke? Could she possibly have come to the realisation that it was better to move on and forget about him than to continue pining after him? It was almost unthinkable, Kotoko had said such things before but she had never gone through with it. When he asked himself why now of all times she had started to become serious about changing, his mind kept repeatedly leading him to Sudou. Naoki was sure that the other guy had a hand in all this but what? Were the two going out?

A voice in his mind snidely asked why he even cared. Didn't he always say that he was better than Kotoko and didn't need someone like her? Naoki remembered his earlier selfish thoughts when he was waiting at the campus gates, struggling with thoughts of Kotoko moving on and him not wanting her too. He ran a hand through his hair in frustration. He really was selfish. If Kotoko had chosen to move on and forget him it was only because he had inadvertently encouraged it by not responding to her attention. It seemed that Kotoko had a limit when it came to her patience with him and he had long ago exceeded it.

Naoki wandered the corridors, reflecting to himself in solitude. No, he wasn't ready to let Kotoko move on yet. It was selfish of him but he couldn't stand the thought of Kotoko being with someone else. However he realised that if he was going to act he had to decide what he wanted. Maybe once upon a time Kotoko would've happily gone along with whatever he said and stopped what she was doing in order to conform to what he wanted. Now Naoki doubted she would do such a thing. If he wanted to ask her to wait for him it meant that he would have to be serious about wanting to date her. This meant that he had to sort out his confusing feelings first to decide what it was he wanted. It would be beyond selfish to demand Kotoko not date another guy yet be indecisive about whether he wanted to date her.

First though he had to ascertain whether Kotoko still had feelings for him. Besides, hadn't he said that he would never let Kotoko forget about him? Naoki wasn't one to break his promises and he certainly wasn't going to start now.

* * *

><p>Noriko was a housewife and took great pride in the keeping of her abode. She was also someone who went to great lengths (extremely great lengths) to make sure that her loved ones were happy, which was why she had entered Kotoko's room with a vacuum cleaner in hand only to drop it as soon as she entered the room, and then locked the door in order to carry out some investigative work.<p>

She would be a fool not to notice the tension that had been brewing between Kotoko and Naoki recently and was determined to know what was going on since nobody seemed inclined to keep her in on the loop. For some reason Kotoko seemed to be straying further away from Naoki and hadn't sought his attention at all. Noriko was sure it was all Naoki's fault though. Honestly, her son was a genius yet he was too silly to see what a great catch Kotoko was.

Her investigation (snooping) skills were second to none and Noriko found what she was looking for in no time at all. She absolutely had no qualms about riffling through Kotoko's drawers and immediately found an envelope. The envelope was labelled as 'First Assignment by Sudou.' The title alone intrigued Noriko. What kind of assignment would be written as a letter, and why did Kotoko have something written by a person called Sudou? If she recalled correctly, wasn't Sudou the name of the guy who acted as coach of the tennis club that Naoki and Kotoko were members of? Noriko stared at the envelope suspiciously. What did Sudou have to do with all this?

With great care Noriko removed the letter from the envelope. She unfolded the paper carefully so as to leave no detectable traces of an intruder's hands having opened the letter. At once her eyes caught the name of her son written at the top of the piece of paper in handwriting she assumed to be that of Sudou since it was not recognisable as Kotoko. Intrigued, Noriko let her eyes roll further down the paper. As she read each word she felt her blood begin to boil.

So...if this Sudou guy was correct, Naoki had been acting less than gentlemanly towards her precious Kotoko. No wonder things had not been progressing as she had hoped. Noriko read the assignment again, her lips pressed into a thin line as she read how exactly her son treated Kotoko. She knew that her son could be antagonistic towards Kotoko but she had thought it to be because it was his way of expressing his feelings. She had no idea that Naoki, the son she had raised to be a considerate gentleman, could be such a bully. If this was truly how her son behaved towards Kotoko then she didn't blame the girl for deciding to move on.

Noriko sat on the bed with a sigh, holding the letter forlornly in her hands. She truly wished that Naoki and Kotoko would love each other and live happily ever after and that they could all be one big happy family. However this Sudou guy was right, Kotoko didn't deserve to be treated so shabbily, and by her son no less! Someone like Kotoko deserved so much more than scraps of affection, like Sudou had written.

She clutched the letter tightly. For now she would let Kotoko continue with whatever it was she was doing. She had noticed how the girl who was like a daughter to her had been in high spirits lately and had a confidence to her that she had been lacking the past few months. No, it wouldn't do to disrupt her. Noriko frowned again.

Her son however she would be having very strict words with. Hard as it was to consider, Noriko could accept the fact that Naoki might never return Kotoko's feelings. However that did not excuse his appalling behaviour. She was bewildered, her son could be cool and aloof but she had never known him to be cruel to someone in the way that the letter described him being cruel to Kotoko. Why would he act in such a manner?

Hope flared inside her as she considered that maybe her son acted that way because he actually had feelings for the sweet, adorable Kotoko. However Noriko quickly found herself frowning again and agreeing with what Sudou wrote. If that's how her son acted when he cared about someone then was he really a good match for Kotoko after all? Could the situation be salvaged somehow? Noriko thought hard about it, it would take a lot of work to make things right. A _lot_ of hard work.

Noriko tried to remember where she had put her disguise costumes. She had a feeling that they would be put to use very, very soon.


End file.
